Finding Home
by AJSIMS
Summary: The story of young Camilla Hale, a young daughter of Aphrodite finding the identity of her father, whom she has never met. Her hunting has led her to Maple Springs, New York, and a certain Impala...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

 **Authors Note : Disclaimer: we do not own Supernatural or Percy Jackson. Although the OC of the story (Camilla) is our personal creation. **

**We hope you enjoy this story and we welcome reviews (both good and bad) on our stories for things that we do well and ways that we could improve. Currently this story is being co-written and this account is a conjoined profile of my best friends and my own writing. If you guys wanna take part in little questions or read any trivia on characters it will always be at the end of the chapter.**

 **Please Enjoy the Story!**

 **\- A & J**

Maple Springs, New York

"One Way or Another"

Sitting on a bus is not unfamiliar to me, but gods they're so gross. I didn't even want to think of the last time these seats were washed and vacuumed. Watching the buildings pass by was a good distraction from the bus ride in itself.

 _Remember Camilla, John Winchester._

Repeating the man's name who is supposedly my grandfather calmed my nerves little by little. I shifted a little in my seat, still anxious. After sifting through so many records, and _a lot_ of internet stalking - thanks to Mattie - I'm finally narrowing down where he is, or rather _who_ he is. He certainly didn't make it at all easy to find him.

 _Why would he? He didn't want you around._

I shook my head, expelling the negative thoughts. All my questions were going to be answered this week. Nothing can get in my way today. No mortals, no monsters, and sure as hell no fake name was going to stop me from finding him and asking him why. Why did he give me up in the first place, I mean I had to be the prettiest little baby he ever saw. I had a lot of questions for that man, but most importantly: who is my dad? Honestly I didn't have a lot of time to think of the ways I was going to confront him about all those things, because soon the bus was pulling to a stop at the West Transit Center, and the drivers voice boomed over the intercom.

"Alright everybody, this is the last stop for Maple Springs before we turn around and head back to West Ellery." Several passengers hurriedly picked up their bags, and began exiting the bus. I followed suit and gathered my pink duffel and followed the others to the platform of the transit center, leaving a hand full of people behind on the bus, flashing a smile at the bus driver.

"Thank you for the ride Jim, I will never forget how kind you were to me." I said with a smile as I hopped off the bus, the man was still in a slight trance when he smiled and waved me off. I think I heard him mumble something about a _sweet girl_. But it sort of sailed right over my head when I was staring at the station in front of me.

This was it, and today was the day that I was going to finally find everything I was searching for. I could feel it in my bones, in my eye lashes, and in my perfectly polished nails. I walked into the station taking care to use the sleeve of my denim jacket to open the grungy door, and moved towards the women's restroom. I looked at myself in the mirror and smoothed out my orange dress and made sure that my hair was friz free. When meeting your family it was crucial to look good, and I wouldn't be caught dead -or alive- having anything less than perfect on me. Giving myself a heart-catching smile in my reflection, I began walking towards the nearest (and cleanest looking) motel.

After some brief map navigating, I found myself at the Lake Side Inn. I took out my compact, and once again smoothed out my hair while adjusting my dove hairpin, then returned it to my bag. I walked in, put on my best smile, and hope to the gods the one at the counter would be a male. Although my luck had to run out eventually when I saw that the person at the counter was a middle aged woman with brown hair and a slight scowl on her face. Wrinkles. Ugh. So many wrinkles. Crows feet was a smiles worst enemy. Maybe I should pick up some moisturizer for the poor woman, gods knows she needed it. Regardless, I kept my smile (although she definitely didn't) and approached the counter.

"Excuse me ma'am?" Madam Wrinkles peered over her glasses to look at me.

"No children are to check in without a parent or guardian little girl." _Little?_ I almost scoffed at her. I mean I wasn't technically a teenager yet, but I was at least in double digits now. Nor was I actually that short thank you very much. Regardless I kept my smile on my face.

"My papa sent me ahead while he is picking up some food from the diner down the street." I layered my charm on thick with a sweet yet firm tone. "I have cash right here for you ma'am, can I please be checked into a room?" I asked kindly and slid the money on the counter, and while I didn't want to spend money on this, sometimes sacrifices had to be made. I could probably bum some cash off of random bystanders later. However the woman just scowled more and pushed the cash back at me over the counter.

"Little girl, if you want to check in then wait for your dad to come back." She threw her hand out over the counter and pointed her long, boney, and _unpolished_ finger at one of the chairs in lobby. With a slight huff I walked back out of the door, without an actual parent around here I would have to make due with someone else. I just needed to find someone who could look the part. Giving a quick scan of the area… no one seemed appealing to fit the bill.

 _He's ugly… he's too old… he looks too creepy…_

"Damn it all." I muttered to myself. Maybe my magical charm was drained a little too much from the bus driver. Might need to recharge a little. At that my stomach growled something fearsome. Thank the gods no one was around to hear that. Now that I think about it, I haven't eaten anything today.

I asked one of the men, the older one, where a diner was where I could get something to eat. Thankfully, there was one not far from the inn, so I didn't have to sweat in my clothes. I shuddered just thinking about it. I walked a little ways before walking into the diner which was pretty sanitary looking and the hostess here looked way nicer than the woman at the Inn. For starters the hostess had beautiful pink peek-a-boos in her blonde hair, and her make-up was on point! The amount of respect I had for this lady was already through the roof when I walked over to her.

"Can I please be seated at table, just one please." I said and she smiled and grabbed a menu and walked me over to a little two person booth near a window and set down the menu.

"Your server will be with you in just a moment, so take your time with the menu." She walked back to her hostess area and I looked over the menu. Flipping straight to the lunch and dinner section because today I just wasn't feeling eggs and bacon. I flipped to the sandwiches and found a particularly good looking BLT on the menu, maybe I could ask to substitute the fries for a salad or fruit. Soon enough a teenaged boy walked over with a notepad to take my order. I smiled pleasantly at him.

"What can I get you today?" he asked in a slightly bored tone, and I did my best to keep my smile up. He was an okay looking guy with skater styled brown hair.

"I would like a lemonade, and I already picked out what I wanted on the menu. I want a BLT but instead of fries I would like some fruit." I watched him scribble down my order and with an eye roll, shuffled over to place my order. He came back shortly after with a _full_ glass of lemonade that was abruptly placed down on my table, causing some of it to spill and he shambled back over towards the kitchen like a mindless zombie. "Rude." I huffed to myself and snagged a napkin from the table and cleaned up his mess and sipped on my lemonade.

After waiting for what felt like a little too long for my food to arrive at my table I was pleased to see that he clearly wasn't the one who put it together. The bread was lightly toasted and bacon, lettuce, and tomato were all assembled in an orderly fashion that actually made the meal look worthy of being eaten. The fruit wasn't anything that special, it looked like some cut up watermelon, strawberries, and a few grapes in a small ceramic bowl. None the less it would do, so with a slight wave at the Zombie who huffed and continued shuffling through the diner I ate my lunch in peace.

After about twenty minutes I had received my bill by Zombie and I gave him a sweet smile.

"Would you mind paying for this instead? I'm a little short on cash." I asked sweetly. Zombie's eye widened and lit up a little and he gave me a nod, and took the check and went over to the cash register, and I took the opportunity to slip out.

I was back and swinging. Time to see Madam Wrinkles again. I slugged my pink duffle over my shoulder and marched back over to the Lake Side Inn for round two with the woman behind the counter. She peered over her glasses at me again and repeated to me what she had said earlier.

"I spoke to my dad, and he really doesn't have the time to come all the way over here, please just check me in, and I promise I'll be back with my dad later." I pleaded. I was really not in the mood to be turned away by this woman _again._ Luckily, she gave me a crooked smile, and slid over the key to a vacant room, and I gave her the cash, and was on my merry way to the room.

The room looked properly put together. _Clean._ I locked my door and placed my duffle by the bed and walked to the other one and plopped down on it, exhaling a sigh of relief. I'm here. _Finally._ I sat up and walked to the vanity and once again smoothed out my hair and clothes and readjusted my dove hair clip for the millionth time.

 _Why are you so nervous Camilla? Get your head straight. He's just a person._

My inner self was tapping her foot at me and was anxious and ready to go. So was I.

 _But what if he rejects me again…_

I tried not to think of that possibility as I went rummaging in the duffel and pulled out my laptop to send an email to Mattie, letting him know I made it and I'll send him another update later tonight. Looking at the time it was 3:53pm. Maybe I should stay in and look in the morning. I'm tired, and worn, and I'm not even 100% sure where to start.

 _No!_

I shook my head and lightly slapped my cheeks, because camp did not raise me to be a wuss! I threw off my jacket and dug through my duffle bag until I found a light blue journal with a dove on the cover. Flipping through the pages I looked at the lead that was left for me by Mattie, and so far there were two names I could look for to lead me to John. Agent Plant and Agent Page? Mattie said that yesterday there was an incident that had happened the night before that classifies as 'weird', and apparently my grandpa chases weird stuff across the country under fake names. Not like that's completely not strange and a little unsettling, even if that's how I came into the picture to begin with.

 _Well if he likes weird then I'll probably stay with him forever because weird doesn't even begin to cover the stuff that happens in my life. Thank the gods I'm in cabin 10, because I don't think I could handle the stress of being in cabin 3._

With that… pleasing thought, I flagged down one of the hotel staff members to ask about the area and as it turns out this is the only inn in this little town so finding Agent Page or Plant may have become a lot easier than expected. All I needed to do is figure out if there was someone staying here with those names or under "Winchester". So I decided to bide my time until the woman at the front desk switched out with someone else, and let me tell you that was a bit of a wait. Soon enough there was an older man at the counter and with a little... prodding… I found out that there is no one at this Inn with those names. Not even a John. Feeling a little disgruntled I continued my search in town now that plan proved to be too easy to work.

I checked local diners, downtown, the library, anywhere I could think of to try and catch Plant and Page. Zilch. Nada. Nothing. My frustrations grew higher, as I tried to think. Agents Plant and Page, where ever could you two be? Agents… Like FBI agents? Why would FBI be in town? I remember one of the Athena kids talking about how FBI gets asked to help on weird or extreme cases from the local police. Maybe I should try the police station? That was a little too risky. Cops have proven to be a little too difficult to influence in the past, and I didn't need to be escorted back to Long Island… How else can I find out why FBI is in town… The idea hit me like Zeus' thunderbolt.

I hastened back over to the local library and fished around for the latest edition of the towns newspaper, and tore through it, searching for any weird deaths, or missing persons case, and I found it. A man claimed to be attacked by man that acted like a wild animal, and killed his two brothers late at night at their construction site for new houses. Then there was the woman whose husband was killed by an old woman yesterday morning, and the whole town seemed to be losing it. Agents Page and Plant have offered their assistance to help local police to solve this case.

 _Gotcha!_

I grinned and hurried down towards the hospital in town, maybe they were there or if they weren't, regardless I was sure the doctors there knew where they were staying. You know, in case they needed to contact the Agents. It felt like things were really starting to fall in place for me, and maybe by sometime tonight I could find my grandpa.

 _Or these guys are not who you think they are and it is a dead end,_ _ **again**_ _._

I shook my head in protest. No, no, no let's not think about that. I am _so_ close. This is the first time I've ever actually found that the fake names are in town! This is the _first_ _time_ I wasn't two days behind them, and having to start all over. No! I'm here, and they're here.

 _Mom, if this ends up being my mortal family I swear I will sacrifice my favorite scarf and a whole pie to you tonight!_

With that cheery thought I continued my stride into the hospital doors and walked up to the front desk of the hospital where a pretty blonde was sitting. I mean that girl had perfect white blonde hair that pretty blue eyes. Maybe I could change my hair to match that color? I always wanted to have a different shade of blonde. A golden color like Apollos or maybe the white gold that the nurse had, but no, I have murky blonde hair. Thanks.

"Excuse me miss?" I began with as I approached the counter. Luna Lovegood turned her head towards me and her curls framed her face perfectly. Ah! So much respect!

"Are you the little girl whose Grandma was brought in today? Those Agents were looking for you." Luna asked me and I struggled for a moment on how to answer that. While I could say yes and have a quick access to the Agents that didn't seem right. If a Grandma was in the hospital and they were looking for the Granddaughter then things could be serious...

"No ma'am," I decided that there are times and places to pretend to be someone else, but that was not right now. "I do need to talk to those Agents though. Are they here or if they aren't do you know where I can find them? Please Miss. It's important." I urged and couldn't help that the charm worked its way into my voice.

She sifted through her notes to find an address or contact info for the Agents and wrote down where she knows the Agents are staying, and handed over the note. I gratefully took it, thanked her and tried to calmly but excitedly jog out the door.

 _GOT YOU!_

My mind was bursting with all the questions I've come up with over the past ten years. It turned out they were staying in a motel out of town, but it wasn't too far away. I got back to my room, and immediately searched for the next bus-I know, disgusting-to said town. Unfortunately the universe really enjoys foiling my plans and the buses stopped running at 7:00PM, and currently it was 7:13PM. Maybe that's what I get for complaining about the bus seats, so that left me with the option to hitch a ride to that town. Or to walk. Wonderful.

Walking was out of the question, who knows how long that would take, and I have this duffle to carry around. I silently scolded myself for packing so many clothes. Hitchhiking it is. I packed my duffle again and slipped outside and scanned the parking lot for someone near their car. Which was a little harder than I initially anticipated, because it was the trick of finding someone who wasn't creepy looking and didn't have a whole family with them. One person to charm speak was cake, two was a little difficult, but three? I didn't have nearly enough practice to do something like that and I doubt it would last long anyways. Then, my eyes landed on a a guy that was handsome enough to be graced with my presence. I fluffed my hair and sashayed over to him as he was putting his bag in his car.

"Excuse me mister, I've sort of found myself in a bit of a pickle." I said as I walked over to him, he was a teenager, probably only a few years older than me and he looked at me with disinterest.

"What happened?" he asked with slight disinterest. Well I would have to change that, even if it was only for a moment.

"I missed my bus, and I'm supposed to meet my dad in the next town over. He's gonna _kill_ me if I'm not there soon. Could you _please_ give me a lift there? It's only about ten minutes away." Once again letting the magic flow into my words. I didn't have time to let this guy say no. Luckily enough I saw his eyes sort of light up in a way and he smiled at me.

 _Hook, line, and sinker._

"Sure, hop on in. I'm Travis." Oh man, he did have to _ruin_ his good looks with that name. Suddenly all I could think of were the Stoll Brothers at camp and this guy was a little less cute than before. Regardless I had places to be and he was offering -more like coerced into offering- me a ride now so lets get on with it shall we?

"Thank you so much! I'm Camilla." I offered as I walked around his car and got into the passenger seat as he was closing the drivers door. Like I had predicted the car ride to the next town over was only like ten minutes, and it helped that he was speeding a little, and trying to have a conversation. Most of which wasn't that interesting, a lot of _where are you from? What does your dad do? I'm on the football team._ Blah blah blah. You know that kind of stuff. Although not to say that he was flirty with me, and honestly that was fine. He was a little too old anyhow and I was only twelve.

Soon enough I was hopping out of his car and waving goodbye as he drove back to the town I met him in. Turning around I looked at the motel he dropped me off at and smiled. Here it was. I walked inside and it was a downgrade from the hotel I was staying at prior. The walls were dingy and everything looked like you would want to touch it with a gloved hand. None the less I smiled and made my way to the counter where a young man was standing.

 _Here I come John Winchester. I'm here whether you want me to be or not!_

 **Authors Note/Trivia :**

 **Thank you for reading the first chapter and we hope that you enjoyed it. The next update will be on Nov. 13th 2018. As promised here is a question to the readers and here is a bit of trivia.**

 **Question: what episode and season of Supernatural do you think this takes place in?**

 **Trivia:**

 **1\. Camilla's birthday is in April 18, and that month that is supposed to be sacred to the planet Venus. Making her an Aries. (Ironic isn't it?)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

 **Authors Note** **:**

 **Thank you for continuing to read our crossover! Hope you enjoy the next chapter, and if you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please leave us a review!**

Maple Springs, New York

"Bedtime Stories"

*-*-* Little Red Riding Hood (point of view shift - Winchester) *-*-*

To say that Dean was having a rough day was a bit of an understatement. Of all the weird things that he had to do on cases fighting the Big Bad Wolf really took the cake. With Casper the not so Friendly Ghost turning this town into a messed up fairy tale to try and communicate with her dad there weren't a whole not of options and so here he was. Being thrown into a china cabinet and tackling a large man who had beaten a grandma to death and kidnapped a little girl. The fact that Dean was playing the "Hunter" in this role was an irony that was not lost on him but he had very little time to think about it.

The fight had progressed to the living room and Dean grabbed a pair of scissors from a sewing basket and was prepared to use them to try and defend himself and the little girl when all of it stopped. Dean knocked the man over and was about to shove the scissors into his stomach when the man suddenly shouted to stop, confused and looking rather frightened, Dean cautiously got off of him. Maybe Sam had stopped the spirit? The little girl was practically crying behind him and Dean tried to work out what he was supposed to do now when Callie appeared in front of him again. Dean tensed up but she flickered and disappeared again, only this time in her place there was a small glass sculpture of a dove on the floor.

He carefully picked up the the delicate thing and looked at it. Sammy's the fairy tale nerd, maybe he'll know what this means. He shoved it in his pocket, and after calling the police, to come collect the Big Bad Wolf and the little girl, he stepped into the Impala and drove down to the hospital to pick up Sam. Doctor Garrison and Sam were chatting in Callie's hospital room, and he saw the good doctor pull the plug on his daughter. It was painful to watch, but Dean was never one to start tearing up like some little bitch.

Dean offered his condolences and he and Sam ducked out, heading towards the Impala to get back to the motel, and he began detailing how it all went down until he got to the part about the glass dove, and there was a pause.

"What? What happened next?" Sam pressed. Always the excited one. Dean's lips lifted in a smile as he dug in his pocket and pulled out the dove and handed it to him.

"Does this ring any bells for a fairy tale?" Dean half watched -minding to keep an eye on the road- as Sam examined the small thing. To his disappointment, Sam shook his head and handed it back.

"Nothing that comes to mind, why?" He asked.

"Callie showed back up after the fight, and left this in her place. Was trying to figure out what she was trying to tell me." He sighed and took the exit to the town with the current base of operations. The dove seemed familiar but he just couldn't put his finger on it. This was going to bug the shit out him all night.

*-*-* At the Motel (point of view shift - Camilla) *-*-*

When I walked up to the counter it wasn't very hard to convince them to tell me where my "dad" was staying. The room was under Robert Plant and honestly I thought the name was a little odd because all that came to mind was a sixty year old man with curly long greying hair. However for a man who had to be in his fifties to be my grandfather maybe there wasn't a whole lot of oddity there. But for someone who is using fake names to travel around the country wouldn't it be better to not use a name of a celebrity?

I know what you're thinking, how does this pretty little twelve year old know about Led Zeppelin? Well let's start with the fact that I was raised in foster care for the vast majority of my life and my case manager really loved the band. I cannot even begin to list off the amount of times that I dozed off in the car to Ramble On, or Good Times Bad Times. On the nights that my case worker came to get me from a home that decided that I was too much trouble or that they didn't want me anymore.

 _I never even stole the earrings from her, I asked and she gave them to me._

Later on it started to make more sense, the fact that I unconsciously wanted to be adopted and so I charmed the parents into picking me. However magic sucks and they didn't remember why they wanted me in the first place. It was always the same, and they would try to keep me for a few months and then they would send me back. After a day of sweets, shopping, and showing me oh how much I was loved.

 _So loved that they couldn't bare to keep me around_

I thought bitterly but it was soon replaced with anxiousness when I reached the door. Room 132, the room that would have my grandpa inside. I reached out a shaking hand and knocked once on the door. Then twice. A third time and there was still not an answer and I let out an annoyed breath. He didn't check out yet right? The man at the desk said that the room was still rented out till morning so that had to mean that he was still here. Maybe out looking at the weird things in this place… I looked around and saw a maid cart a few doors down and confidently strided over there. I was not going to miss them and if nothing else I could see if there was anything identifying in the room, something to track him if he slips away.

When I approached the maid cart I could see the soaps, the toilet paper, and the sheets all resting on top and with a little looking around I saw an older woman in the hotel room changing the sheets of the hotel bed. Which was nice considering most of the time the sheets are left unchanged in my opinion. So at least this place was a little sanitary. The maid had grey hair that was pulled up in a bun on top of her head but her posture was almost perfect, probably from years of grooming to stand straight and tall. I lightly knocked on the door frame by the cart and she turned her head and her face was lined in freckles and wrinkles. Unlike Madame Wrinkles from the other Inn this woman looked like her wrinkles were from smiling and laughing, a woman who aged with happiness and grace. It was rare to see.

"Hi there sweetie. Is there something you need, maybe towels?" She asked, probably a little too used to people bothering her while she cleaned.

"Actually no, I accidently locked myself out of my room. My dad is out getting food and he's going to be awhile. Do you think you could let me in?" I asked and Miss Bubbles walked over while reaching into her pocket and pulled out her mastercard. I lead her over to the room I was trying to get into and watched as she opened the door up for me, despite the "do not disturb" sign on the handle. "Thank you so much!" I exclaimed and grabbed my duffel off of the floor then walked into the room and closed the door behind me. Not bothering to lock it I sat my bag on the floor behind one of the two beds.

Taking a look around I saw two other duffel bags on the beds and opened one of them up. There were clothes, IDs, a knife, a gun, salt, and other kind of random things. Flannel. _So_ much flannel. While I looked around I noticed that there was salt on the window-sill, and by the vents, and by the door-which I might add got disrupted by the door opening-so it was a little weird. Choosing not to linger on it too much I pulled the IDs out of the duffel and then did the same to the other one and sat on the ground spreading them out. Looking at the IDs were a little weird, because it was all the same photos of two men but with different names: Jerry Wanek and Robert Singer, Kris Warren and Jerry Kaplan, and various other names tossed into the mix.

 _I mean if they were gonna chose names they ought to do it with something that fits them. I mean Jerry? Robert? None of those names look like they would belong to these guys._

Looking at the IDs I frowned a little more, and I mean I don't really know what John looks like other than that he's an older man with numerous IDs. But the two pictures I was looking at were both younger men, I mean by no means were they my age or even teens but they didn't look like they were much older than mid-twenties. So obviously they were not my grandpa that's for sure, so then who were they? Did I trace all of this to the wrong person? My heart sunk a little at that thought that all of this was for nothing…

 _Puppy brow and G.I. Joe Ken doll… Not exactly the family reunion I was hoping for._

I wanted to sit there in self pity and cry a little, even though my makeup would go all over the place. I wasn't a pretty and graceful crier, not like in the movies where they still look cute and you just want to give them a hug. No, when I cried snot went everywhere and and I hiccuped and blubbered like a two year old. Not the most attractive tears to shed now is it? However before the water works could start I heard the sound of boots hitting the floor and voices from outside the door. I practically jumped up from my position on the floor and panicked, I couldn't go out the door, the closet was too obvious, and so I did what came to mind. I fled to the bathroom and hid underneath the sink. Thank the Gods it was empty under there because right as I pulled the cabinet door closed the door to the motel room opened up.

"-and I mean, the only thing I can think of is maybe the Swan Princess. But that's not-" One of the voices stopped mid sentence and I heard their steps stop and mentally cursed at myself for that. Of course the IDs were still laid all over the floor and the duffels were open. Not exactly the most inconspicuous.

"Salt line by the door was disturbed." A more gruff voice said and I could hear the edge in his tone.

"You think they fled?" The voice talking about the Swan Princess asked.

"Doubtful, they didn't put the IDs away and there's a pink duffel sitting by the window." The gruff voice responded, and I physically flinched. Of all the stupid things of me to do I _left_ my duffel out there. With my knife, my ambrosia, canteen of nectar, my laptop, my _shoes!_ I didn't even think to open the window, to pretend I fled! "Get out here! We know you're in here somewhere." I could hear the boots moving around again, and the closet door opened.

"If we have to come and find you it is not going to be pretty. We **will** find you, do you understand?" The gruff voice called out again and I heard another pair of boots heading into the bathroom and I swear I stopped breathing. My body seized up and my instincts were screaming that this was dangerous, and I was terrified. I heard the bathroom shower curtain get roughly pushed to the side and I moved my hands over my mouth and nose.

"No one is in here either Dean." One of the voices called out from maybe a foot or less away from me. I heard the footsteps move back out to the main area of the motel room and I let out a slow and shaky breath. Maybe I could get out of here in one piece still. "No sulfur either."

"Let's go down to the front desk, or find a maid in the hallway, maybe they know something or saw someone-or something-come in here. Or at the very least saw someone leaving." The gruff voice spoke as I heard the boots hitting the floor and a door open. The other voice started to respond but it was cut off by the door closing and I slowly eased open the cabinet and climbed out from under the sink. I maybe had a couple of minutes to grab my duffel-because I was not leaving my $100 jeans behind-and get out of this clear mistake before Starsky and Hutch came back.

 _Mattie I am so going to kill you when I get back to camp. You sent me on the wrong lead!_

I walked a little slower trying to stay on my toes to make less noise as I grabbed my pink duffel off of the floor and swung it over my shoulder. Taking carefully planned steps while I thought of how I was going to torment Mattie when I got back-maybe I'll put makeup on him and make it stay for a week. I inched closer to the door and turned the handle, and figured I would use the the stairs to go down and out the back of the building. But before I could even think of which way to turn down the hallway the door burst open again and I stumbled back and screeched a little louder than I intended.

The two men from the IDs I was looking at were standing in front of me in the flesh and I lost all color in my face staring down the guns they had pointed at me. I stepped back a little and just about dropped my bag onto the floor.

"Not another step." The shorter one started, but the taller one lowered his gun when he took me in.

"Dean… It's just a kid." The taller one, whom I will call Puppy based on the eyes he was giving the shorter guy, and who I will call G.I. JOE. "What are you doing in here?" Puppy asked me. I wanted to dignify them with a response but my mouth was entirely dry and I was still a little too zoned in on the gun. I thought of all the ways I might die-monster attack, hit by a bus, or dying from shopping overload-it never occured to me that it would be by a human shooting me for breaking and entering in a motel room. Although was it really breaking in if I was technically _let_ in? Okay maybe it was more like I _tricked_ someone to let me in.

The Puppy seemed to catch onto my hestitence and he reached a hand out and lowered his companions gun as well. The movement caused G.I. Joe to fully put away his gun by tucking it in the back of his jeans. The Puppy did the same and they were both staring at me, and they looked rather confused as well.

"What are you doing in here?" G.I. Joe asked me, he still looked a little defensive and I saw the Puppy's eyes widen a little.

"Dean. The hair clip on her bangs. Look at that." He motioned to my hair and I frowned a little. I mean good on him for having good taste but were they going to mug me in their motel room?

"What the..." G.I Joe reached into his pocket and I flinched thinking of whatever weapon he might have been grabbing. So imagine my surprise when he pulled out a little sculpture of a dove. "What you think the spirit was warning us about? That Goldilocks was going to break into our room to try out the beds, and maybe eat our porridge?" He asked and on a better day I might have appreciated the snarky tone but I was still a little shaky.

 _Did they say ghost? What are they the ghost busters?_

"I don't know Dean, but the dove and her hairclip are identical. Clearly that means something and we found her here, in our motel room." Puppy was motioning to me and I somehow managed to find my voice.

"Wrong room." I spoke softly, in fear if I was too loud they would open fire.

"What?"

"I… I have the wrong room." At that point I started to work my charm into my speech, setting a resolve in my voice to push the effect further. "I just want to leave, promise. Please… Just let me go."

"You broke into our room, _and_ hid from us, _and_ went through our stuff." G.I Joe emphasized the things I did that even I had to admit were a little sketchy, and he clearly was unaffected by my charm speak and given that Puppy wasn't reacting in a way to assist me- I'm gonna say it was a complete fail. "Who are you? Were you trying to steal something? Cause our wallets are on us so that isn't gonna work Princess."

 _Princess?_

"I… I was looking for someone but I think I got the wrong room." Ok… These guys were scary… Like Chiron when he's actually mad scary. They have guns. Who knows what the hell else they might have.

 _Mom, please help me out…_

"Who are you! Answer!" I flinched. Ok, G.I Joe was _really_ scary.

"M-my name is…" Gods I hated how shaken up I was by these two.

"Dean, calm down, she's just a kid." Puppy urged.

"When is it ever that simple Sam?" He barked out and then looked back at me. "Who are you? What were you hoping to gain by being in here? Shifting through our stuff isn't the sign of someone who simply is in the wrong place."

"Camilla. Ok? Hear me? My name is Camilla, and I just want to leave… Please. I got the wrong room. I was searching for someone which has now turned to a dead end."

 _Again…_

The tension that was rolling off of G.I. Joe seemed to dissipate a little bit and I saw his shoulders visibly relax and I felt like crying. Monsters threatening to eat or kill me I could deal with, because that was very normal and there was little else to really worry about when it came to them. Humans were absolutely terrifying because you never knew what the plan was, or if they were going to hurt you or leave you alone. Monsters were straight forward; they were black and white, but humans were complex and complicated with _millions_ shades of grey. There should really be a "How to deal with Insane Humans 101" course at camp… I made a mental note to bring it up to Chiron when I get back. _If_ I get back.

"See Dean? She's not trying to do anything and she was searching for someone…." Puppy seemed to sound less and less confident the more he said it outloud. Then he looked at me with an expression that I felt I saw on Athena's kids more often than not: curiosity. "Who are you looking for anyway?" He asked.

I debated on whether I should actually tell him the truth, and honestly… I was tired with the lies. Besides, these guys could probably tell if I decided to be anything but honest with them… It's almost like they could smell fear. Like a dog can, or like my sisters can when they desonate you to the shoes of shame.

"I was searching for the man who is supposedly my grandpa. On my birth certificate there was one name and one name only when I was dropped off at the hospital, and that was a fake. So, I've been digging and trying to track him down. Which hasn't been easy and once again led me to this dead end… I thought… Maybe it was one of you but you're both too young to be my Grandpa… I realized that when I looked at the IDs…" Everything started to just spill out at that point. There was a chip in the dam, and now's broken apart. "I was gonna put them back, really. I was gonna put them back and leave when I realized I had the wrong guy. Then you guys were coming in, and I panicked because I was in your room. So I hid under the sink and thought maybe I could sneak away while you went to the front desk."

"Well, who were you looking for? The name." The Puppy asked. Again, curious. I really didn't want to continue this interrogation, but I feel like I didn't have much of a choice.

"Come on Sammy, what is with the questions. Just let her go out already. It's clear that this was just a mistake." G.I Joe said I visibly relaxed, and was about to step forward to leave.

"Wait a second Dean. The ghost warned us about the dove, and I don't think it's a mistake that she is here." The Puppy argued, and honestly was about to be demoted to the "Bad Dog".

 _Curiosity killed the cat, or in this case you're gonna get me killed._

"Sam."

"Dean."

There was a bit of a stare off before the G.I Joe groaned and sat down next to the door on one of the two beds. He looked about as done with this situation as I felt at the moment. They both looked at me expectantly and I wanted to toss my duffel on the ground and protest. Somehow I felt like that would only prove to make my situation worse.

"The… The name on the paperwork was Bert Aframian," I said and saw G.I Joe's eyes widen just a little at the name. As if he recognized it or something. "But after digging and doing some tracking I think his name was actually John Winchester." After that they both spoke simultaneously.

"You think John Winchester is your grandpa?" From Puppy. "Bullshit." From G.I. Joe. Both of their comments were simply drenched in disbelief, more so than an old woman smothered perfume and old shampoo. I raised an eyebrow and looked at each of them. It seemed they both knew the name.

"Do you know him? Do you know where I could find him?" My hopes were up again. If they knew him, then they could know where he is. My questions could be answered after all!

"You can't. He died last year." I honestly don't even know who said that, because I couldn't distinguish the voices with the cloud that smothered my thoughts in that moment. My heart dropped to my feet. Tears started to swell in my eyes, but I grit my teeth and bit back the tears that were desperately trying to fall.

"Listen." The Puppy started to take a step towards me and I was too numb to move. "I… I don't know how John could have been your grandpa because… He's our dad." I felt my eyes widen. "And Dean and I," he motioned to his brother and himself, a little frantically. "We don't have kids, at least as far as I know." He looked at his brother then and I followed his gaze.

"What? I don't have a kid Sam!"

"You sure about that? You thought Ben was-"

"Well he wasn't! Ok? I don't have a kid."

"Well one of you has to be!" I shouted. "I did not come all this way to find out I'm wrong. Again. John Winchester is my grandpa."

"H-How old are you?" The Puppy asked, caught off guard by my outburst. I half hoped he was my dad.

"I'm twelve. Born in '96." The Puppy looked a little relieved while G.I Joe looked even more pale now.

"That means… I would have been thirteen at the time, so that means..." He looked at Dean and my heart sort of… dropped in a way but not really. I mean Puppy seemed nicer but if this was my dad…

You could hear a pin drop in that room, and that silence abruptly ended.

"Son of a bitch."

 **Thanks for reading, another chapter will be posted in two weeks!**

 **Question: What monster should be Camilla's nemesis?**

 **Trivia: The dove hair clip was a gift from her mom for her tenth birthday.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

 **Authors Note** **:**

 **Thank you for reading! Any trivia or questions that we pose to the readers will be at the end of the chapter, so if you like to look at that then that's where you will find it! Also we want to thank everyone who has reviewed so far, because it really lifted our spirits! Any responses we had to reviews will be at the end with the trivia. Thank you for reading!**

 **Next update will be Dec. 11th!**

 **\- A & J**

Maple Springs, New York

"Mother"

"Son of a bitch!" G.I Joe repeated, sounding a little more than frustrated. Puppy sighed and gave me an apologetic look. My limbs were still numb from them scaring me halfway to the Underworld and the thought of moving was still a little too terrifying.

"Sorry about him, he's just processing everything. Here, take a seat." Puppy pulled up a chair and I sat down. The Puppy seemed to give more of a "caregiver" or maybe a "therapist" vibe, and it made you want to trust him and have him pat your head while telling you everything was going to be a-okay. All the while G.I Joe stared at me for a while, and I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. He was a little less comforting on that whole "don't you worry, you're completely safe" vibe, because if looks could have killed me I would have been visiting Lord Hades already.

"Who's your mom?" He finally asked after a few beats of anxiety.

"You mean you don't know?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. Puppy let out a chuckle.

"He uh… He's met a lot of women."

"Dude shut up."

"What? I'm just saying…" Puppy teased. The tension in the room was starting to dissipate. Something that, in all honesty, I was pretty grateful for. I needed the tension to dissolve so that I could try to think straight.

"Bitch."

"Jerk." They bantered. It was sort of cute and made them seem more like teddy bears and not gun toting men.

"No. I don't know who your mom is. That's why I'm asking. You have her phone number, so I could call her?" Crap. Didn't think of this part. What could I say to him?

 _Sorry, you can't because my mom doesn't even talk to me, in fact I've never met her, and she's a little busy being the goddess of love and beauty._

I would look insane. No, better break him in easy. Maybe one day tell him the truth when he didn't seem so… scary. Or maybe when he would feel bad about dropping me off at a mental health institute.

"Uhm, I've actually never met her. Like I said there was only one name on the birth certificate and that was… your dads… I was dropped off with you guys and then I guess he dropped me off at the hospital and turned me into the state. I've been bouncing foster homes ever since." I explained. I could see G.I Joe's face drop, and pale even more than it was -if that was possible- as he took a seat at the foot of one of the beds.

Just then, clear pictures of all the homes I've been placed into started to fill my head. The Robins, the Freemans, the Keelers, the Davidsons, and the Wilsons. All seemed fairly okay. Up until about a month and a half in with all of them where it was discovered I was a "problem child" and they sent me back. Or said family would have one of their own and then send me back. Thinking of the experiences made my throat close a little and bring a few tears to my eyes. Every time my case manager would come in and she would give me a smile and tell me that this wasn't the place for me yet, but that she was going to find it.

 _Why would any of them want you? These guys are no different. Before too long you're going to be on a bus back to camp or worse they'll call Ms. Lucas and she'll drag you back to another foster home, another failed attempt at "family". Except after this… there are no chances for a real family._

"Camilla? Camilla." G.I Joe's voice boomed through my anxious thoughts. My inner self smiled a little as he called me by name.

"Yea? Sorry I zoned out a little."

"It's fine, but shouldn't you still be at the adoption center? You're like twelve aren't you?" He continued.

"Yea… um, I ditched them..." I said timidly. I wasn't typically this awkward or shy, in fact I've been told I was rather charming but it was hard to pull any of that to the surface at the moment, and I felt like I was in trouble when I admitted that I was a runaway.

"You ran?" Puppy asked. There was some concern in his tone. How sweet.

"To come find you… more specifically I came to find John and hope he could point me in your direction, but you know…" I sighed. "I have this friend- he's really good with computers- I gave him the name on my birth certificate and with some parameters of about how old he had to be, what year I was born, and where I was dropped off at the time, he had a hit. Not a strong one, but that's all I needed. I was done being turned back to the orphanage so I decided to try find what family I knew I had left. It took some digging- ok it took a lot of digging- but I found a pattern with that name, and all of the events that happened surrounding that name. Murders, disappearances, wild animal attacks, and weird stuff that happened. So I had Mattie look up weird cases like that around the U.S and somewhere along the way I picked up the name John Winchester along with two fake names. Plant and Page. When a hit came back to us about those names being near me, I took it as a solid hint from fate and the best- or maybe only- opportunity to find family… So here I am." I wheezed after managing to explain all of it in what was maybe a breath or two.

There was a slight pause of silence. It wasn't like the tension from before, but it was something heavy. I could hear my heart beating in my ears, and I felt like I was going to cough out my heart into my hand. Some part of me was waiting for the inevitable, where they told me that I was cute and all but that they didn't have time for me. I wasn't needed or wanted and they had to take me back to Ms. Lucas. Thank the gods I was sitting down, because if they said all that then my reaction wouldn't be pretty. Maybe I would cry, or maybe I would faint, or it would be both. Then G.I Joe finally broke the silence.

"Sam, can I talk to you for a second? Outside?" I wanted him to break the silence but gods I wished he had said _anything_ but that. I saw Puppy give a head nod and stand up. "Stay here, we'll be right back ok?" He asked, turning to me. I gave a slight head nod back and stayed seated. He gave a small smile then he and Puppy went outside. My heart sunk a little when I thought of what they were talking about. All I could think of was the last night with the Wilsons. It was just the mother and the father after they lost their baby in a car accident, and Ms. Lucas was certain their need to nurture someone would be all that was needed, and that I would have a home.

I remember them walking outside just like G.I Joe and Puppy did, only Mrs. Wilson was crying and her husband was rubbing her shoulder. They were out there for maybe twenty minutes while I sat at the kitchen table coloring in the lips and eyeshadow of Princess Barbie. When they came back in Mrs. Wilson gave me a strained smile and did the best she could to explain to my eight year old self that this wasn't the place for me, and how someone else was going to love me more than they ever could. It wasn't too long after that when Ms. Lucas came by to pick me up. As I sat here, on the chair waiting for the two men to come back it all felt a little too much like that time. Only I didn't have a coloring book to occupy me.

*-*-* Outside the Motel (point of view shift - Winchester) *-*-*

Dean rubbed his head as he stood outside with Sam, and boy- was his head spinning. Inside that room was a girl claiming to be his and he wasn't sure what the hell to do. Especially after hearing her side of the story. She grew up alone. If only he knew…

"Well Dean? What are we going to do?" Sam asked.

"What do you mean 'what are we going to do?'" He retorted.

"Well it's not like we can just leave her here Dean, she's your kid."

"Hey, we don't know that for sure. She could be making this whole thing up Sammy."

"Do you really think that Dean? She came a long way to come find you and you think it's because she's out to get you?" Sam retorted, as he so often loves to do. Honestly, Dean wasn't sure what to think, but he stuck with what he knew for sure.

"What else would I think Sam? Everyone's out to get us. Everyone! Everything!" Dean saw Sams face drop a little at the mention of that. Dean was right, and Sam knew it. "We- We got demons on our ass, vampires on our trail, spirits are around every corner. This isn't a life for a kid Sam. Especially when… or if…" Dean sighed and shook his head.

"If... ? If what Dean?" Sam pressed.

"I would never want this life for my kid. If I ever had one." Dean confessed. "I didn't get a choice being put in the middle of this, but _if_ or _when_ \- whatever- if it happened I didn't want my kid sucked into all of this. The hours in the car and the motel rooms. The diner food and never actually having a place to call a home, and never ever being in one school for more than a year." Sammy's eyes drifted down and he let out a sigh.

"I still don't think she's here just to try and screw you over Dean. Maybe- _just_ _maybe_ \- what she's saying is true. Come on, we can't just send her back, and we can't just leave her here either." He argued. As much as Dean hated to admit it… Sam was right. If she wanted to get at them she would have done it by now, or he would have gotten _some_ sense of what she was trying to do. He would love to say that he had a hunch but, nothing felt _off_ about her or her motives. She genuinely seemed to be telling the truth in there. His gaze shifted to the door of the motel. His possible daughter was in there.

He'd be lying to himself if he said he never wanted kids. The apple pie life. He'd always imagined it. Having a beautiful babe for a wife, and a few kiddos running around the yard with the dog, tracking mud everywhere… Seeing them grow up, right in front of his eyes. Innocent, and never knowing about what's hiding in the dark. That life was never going to be his, he was dying, and his soul was going to be dragged to the bottomless pits of hell in less than a _year_. The thought struck through him like a bullet. Like he needed to be reminded of _that_. Of all things to be reminded of, _that_ was covered. Sammy was right though, he couldn't just leave a kid here to hang and dry. He looked at Sam -who had been staring at Dean for a few minutes now- and gave him a nod.

"Okay you're right, so stop staring at me like that. You're creeping me out." He joked and thankfully got a short chuckle out of Sam. "But listen to me. We break the news about what we do to her _slowly_ eh? And no mention of me going to the pit either." He ordered. Sam's shoulders dropped but he gave a nod in agreement. Dean walked back up to the door and pulled it back open.

*-*-* In the Motel Room (point of view shift - Camilla) *-*-*

Oh gods the suspense was killing me. Okay, it's only been about 30 seconds since they walked out the door but what in the world could they be talking about that was taking so long?! I mean deciding to keep or get rid of me shouldn't take years to decide! I was even cuter than I was at the age of eight, and pretty awesome if I did say so myself. I would have cracked open a window or the door but they would probably actually hear me. I've also already tried pressing my ear against the door and couldn't hear squat.

Of all the things that this dump of a motel decided to be good at it was having a good amount of wall and door between rooms and halls to make sound travel pretty poorly. Granted, I'm sure they were whispering so I wouldn't hear them. Kind of the point of a grown up conversation was that the kids don't poke their nose in it. So instead I paced around the room while my father- which appeared to be G.I Joe- was out there probably trying to figure out how to call my social worker to come and recollect me. Let me say right now that I was not ever going back there, especially not to _Iowa_ of all places.

With a sigh I retreated back to the door again and tried to press my ear up against it to get some form of conversation. It became rather clear that it wasn't so much that the door canceled sound as much as the two men were whispering to each other because a moment later I heard the boots outside the door and jerked away right as the door started to open. I did the first thing I could think to do so it wouldn't seem like I was eavesdropping, _not like it did any good anyways_ , and I sat on the bed near the door. When G.I Joe came back into the room he looked over at me with a brow raised.

"Didn't I tell you to stay where you were?" His voice was gruff and full of authority, and I fought back the urge to huff. It wasn't as if I was leaving the room or climbing out the window. Despite my temptation to open it at the least.

"That chair was super uncomfortable, and although the bed is lumpy it beats the chair." I explained, and tried to look disinterested by picking at the polish on my nails.

"Well..." G.I Joe started to talk and grabbed the chair I was sitting on and pulled it up in front of the bed. "We can't leave you here kiddo, and we don't feel right just sending you back to a foster house. But there are some things you need to know, and it isn't going to be easy to hear." He said, and the look on his face was dead serious. Which was a little intimidating, but I don't really know what he could say that was going to be so bad after saying he wasn't sending me into the system again.

 _He won't adopt you and he doesn't see himself as your father Camilla. You're just some weird kid._

My little bubble deflated a little and I kept repeating it in my mind. Why would he see me as his kid? He hardly knew me at all and even I had to admit all of this was a little weird and it wasn't like I had a mom to tell him about to even verify he was my dad. Then there was the blood… If he did a blood test then his DNA would show up but my moms would be… a little unreadable and it wouldn't match up with anything on record. My moms blood is made of ichor for one, so it's melded into my blood too.

"Monsters are real." My dad started, and honestly my eyebrows shot up in response. Not because it was surprising but because it was weird hearing a mortal say it. Was he clear sighted then? But then wouldn't he know what my mom was? If he did then it would be easier to explain why I was here… But then why did he give me up? Or I guess John gave me up.

"I know it sounds crazy, but it is the truth Camilla." Puppy spoke next, also taking a seat near me but on the other bed. I guess the lack of response made him think that maybe I wasn't processing what they were trying to tell me, or that maybe I was scared? A normal person would be scared right? "Monsters are real, and they are dangerous. Sometimes… Well sometimes they hurt people." He continued and I just sort of nodded. Of course monsters usually came after me but not as often as they did other Demigods, but I never really known Empousa to come after humans though.

"Do you understand what we are saying Camilla?" G.I Joe asked, "I know its a lot but it is true." I slowly nodded my head in response, trying my best to act surprised. Maybe I could tell them about the camp after all. That would be so nice. I could stay there for the summer, and when I'm not there I have a dad who understands weird stuff happens to me! My inner self was jumping for joy.

 _Gods so many emotion jumps today…_

"And we hunt them." G.I Joe continued. "Those weird cases that you were tracking us by, sometimes it's a spirit that needs to be put to rest, or a werewolf that got a little too excited during the full moon." He stared at me pretty hard for a moment and again I shifted a little under his gaze. "Believe me, I'd give anything not to tell you this, but if your gonna be on the road with us, I want you to be honest with me. About everything okay? I know I'm not much of a dad- hell I never thought this would happen- but… I'm willing to try if you are." My mood skyrocketed.

 _He's willing to try! He knows weird stuff happens! He_ wants _to try!_

I wanted to scream to the heavens I was so happy.

"I'm willing to try too." I said and gave him a smile. I decided I _will_ tell him about the camp and what I am, and who Mom is, just not tonight. A lot has happened.

"I'm glad, and so you can protect yourself, Sam and I are going to be showing you some combat moves to help you get out of sticky situations, and I'm gonna have you start reading this as we drive around." He said as he produced a _very_ beat up, brown, leather journal from his duffel. Gods it was old. Looks like he never let the thing out of his sight. "This was my dad's." He continued. "Everything he knows about what he knows is in here. The creatures and types of spirits, how to kill them, and their main weaknesses." I nodded enthusiastically.

"Whatever you got for me I can handle." I said confidently. These guys likely have _nothing_ on Chiron. G.I Joe smiled a little. Okay, so maybe I could see why Mom liked him. He had a nice smile, bright green eyes, he actually cared about his hair. Puppy spoke up next.

"You're taking this surprisingly well."

"Let's just say I've had my fair share of weird experiences and leave it at that." I said with a smile. Just then my stomach growled. I flushed in embarrassment. G.I Joe chuckled a little.

"You and me both kiddo. Sammy, you wanna start cleaning up while Camilla and I go get food?" He asked, looking over at Puppy who had a bit of a confused look on his face. It was the first time I heard him call him by a nickname and I couldn't help but smile at how close they were.

That was my dream- to be close with a family. It was _finally_ coming true. Puppy nodded and began loosening his tie, and G.I Joe and I headed out the door towards an _old_ car. Double emphasis on _old_. I don't know cars that well but I could see the fancy lettering towards the front it was a Chevrolet. Gods, Mattie would know. He's obsessed with cars and mechanics. So much in fact I _swear_ he belongs to the Hephaestus cabin, but Hermes claimed him so I guess it was just another weird quirk of his.

G.I Joe climbed into the front driver seat and I followed suit and climbed in the passenger seat. The car was _decently_ clean for the most part. There was no dust or noticeable trash from the get go. My supposed dad probably takes _really_ good care of it. It wouldn't surprise me if they lived here most of the time however, due to the smell. He started up the car and the engine turned over and he began driving out towards a diner. Classic rock boomed through the stereo and I was actually enjoying myself a little.

"So, what were you guys taking care of in Maple Springs?" I asked curiously. I read that article about the man and his brothers, and the wife and husband. Also when I was at the hospital the Luna Lovegood nurse had mentioned a grandma. I also recalled G.I Joe saying something about a ghost.

 _Huh. They really are the ghostbusters._

I was expecting the stay-puft marshmallow man to pop up any minute now.

"A sad story actually." He started. "A girl was in a coma for a really long time. Her step mom poisoned her with bleach, and her dad -who is a doctor- didn't know. Over time her spirit grew angrier since no one knew the truth. Her dad started reading her comatose body some of the brothers grimm fairy tales, and she made them true with real people." He explained. "She wanted her dad to know the truth, and she wanted to be let go."

I couldn't help but feel bad. Her mom _poisoned_ her, and put her in a coma… It was weird to think about. G.I Joe pulled up to the diner while describing how spirits can become vengeful spirits over time and they aren't even themselves anymore. He says that one of the ways to rid said spirit is to salt and burn the bones of the deceased, which sounds absolutely morbid.

"Woah, wait. Did you salt and burn a _live_ \- or semi alive and in a coma- person?" I blurted out and leaned away a little when I studied him. Who does that? And the smell of burning flesh had to be absolutely horrid.

"What?!" G.I Joe looked about as affronted as I did at the notion of him burning someone to death. Although is it to death if they are already dead? Or was she still alive? I was starting to feel a little green thinking on that. "No! No, we did not salt and burn a comatose girl. Sammy got the Doctor to understand what had happened and after the truth was out she just… left. Her body died and I assume she went somewhere else, wherever ghosts go to when they die." He explained getting out of his car. I pushed the door open and hopped out too. So then the girl probably went to the Underworld… I can't imagine the fates will be too kind if she caused people pain, suffering, and death. I shivered a little at the thought.

When we walked into the diner something caught my eye. There was a little dove carved into the menu but a moment later it was gone. Like it simply vanished. I sat there for a second and then it hit me.

 _Right. As promised Mom, I'll burn my favorite scarf for you later. Just need to find a moment alone to let it catch fire,_

Shame. That scarf was rose gold and it looked wonderful on me.

 **Authors Note** **:**

 **Geni Blaze: an Empousa is a really good idea!**

 **Cherryorpeach: we are honored to hear that, we hope that we will keep up the good work!**

 **Mangocheese: glad you liked it! We don't have any intention of discontinuing the story, we actually have a few endings in mind and we fully intend to see this story till the end!**

 **Writer Obsession: probably in a very Dean like fashion; either anger or pride.**

 **Question: Would her celestial bronze knife kill a demon possessing a human? If she cuts a demon with celestial bronze does the human die too?**

 **Trivia: Camilla's favorite animated movie is Lilo & Stitch.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

 **Authors Note : ****Thanks for reading everyone! If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please leave us a review or PM us. We hope that you're enjoying this story so far!**

 **Stay tuned for our next update which will be on Christmas! Due to the posting time falling on that day we will have a little surprise for all the readers! Next update we are posting two chapters, one which is a more legitimate chapter and the second which will be a little Christmas special, however we cannot promise how long the special will be.**

 **\- A & J**

Maple Springs, New York

"Bonding with You and Me"

I sat in the diner with my… dad? I wasn't really sure what to call him, because I didn't think G.I Joe would be his nickname forever but calling him Dean just didn't feel quite right. I mean as a father and daughter pair aren't we supposed to be less formal? Or is that out of the question because we don't really know each other? Did he care one way or another, and would he even respond if I called him dad? Would his response be one like in those sappy moments where he's so proud to be called a father or would he just be uncomfortable? Then our nonexistent relationship would crumble in the dust! The Puppy's nickname had to change too. While he did look a lot like a puppy he was my uncle so eventually I would have to call him something else. Maybe I could call him Uncle Sammy? Gods there was a lot to consider, and it had to suit the two of them as well. With a light sigh I leaned against my hand and looked across the table at my dad who was ordering a few things from the waitress to go, and I didn't miss the smile he tossed her way.

 _Flirty is certainly an option for him, but that doesn't really sit well with me either. I can't exactly call my own dad a flirt, even if that's what he is. Green eyes? Leather Jacket?_

"So..." My dad started, "you're like what? Ten?" He asked and I raised my eyebrow a little. I swear we had a conversation only like ten minutes ago and I clearly stated I was twelve, huh, maybe the mist was actually affecting him or maybe he actually had a not so great memory. Either genetics or maybe he hit his head one too many times fighting ghouls. Couldn't exactly leave him thinking I was ten though I mean I am almost a teenager.

"I'm twelve."

"Twelve… So I was seventeen when I met your mom." He stated. I shrugged and just kept staring at him. "Odd that I can't remember her…" I blinked at that. My mom is beyond _gorgeous_. Not that I've actually ever met her or saw her myself, but I knew well enough from stories how flawless and beautiful she is. I mean I had to get my good looks from somewhere and usually guys don't forget when they meet Aphrodite.

"She doesn't stick out anywhere?"

"No one comes to mind." I silently huffed at that. "So, what are you thinking about?" He suddenly asked. "You've been staring at me for the past five minutes."

"A lot to process lately." I admitted. "Not only did I finally meet my dad, but I'm going to be traveling the road with him." I beamed. I always liked traveling and car rides surprisingly put me at ease, and I liked watching the scenery pass by the windows. Being at camp 24/7 was never solely fun. Although I do already miss Mattie and even a few of my half siblings. Been a while since I've been able to see them. "Also…" I continued. "I'm not 100% sure what to call you…" I saw him raise an eyebrow now. Like daughter like father I guess with how we both did that to each other.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Well, calling you "Dad" doesn't feel quite right since I've only just met you, and calling you "Dean" doesn't quite feel right either. I've been mentally calling you G.I Joe," I don't know how it was possible but his brow rose even _more_ than before. "but that's just because that was the first thing to come to mind since I didn't know your real name. You don't seem the type to go by "Mr. Winchester." either." I explained.

"Ah. I see." He said and sipped on his coffee. "Call me whatever is more comfortable to you. Out of curiosity- what did you call Sammy?" He gave me an ever-so-slight smirk as he asked, curious. I smiled a little to myself.

"Puppy." I didn't miss a beat to say it. Which turned out to be a good thing because he let out a chuckle, and it was an honest to Gods laugh.

"Yea, that suits him." He laughed and took another sip of his coffee. "You're fine to call us Dean and Sam. It won't bother us." He confirmed, and I gave him a slight nod. The waitress came back and handed us our bagged food: Deans double stacked bacon cheeseburger, my BLT with fries, and the salad he had ordered for Sam. Once we had the food in our hands we left the diner and got back in the car to head back to the motel. When we got in the car he turned and looked at me as the salad was sat in my lap.

"Don't worry, I'm not gonna spill his food." I automatically responded to the look, because that was a thing with Mr. Davidson. Don't spill anything in his fancy and oh so special car.

"What? I wasn't really that worried about you spilling the bag," He said, "but don't." he added after a beat, but I had the distinct feeling that there was more to what he wanted to say. So I waited while he started the car in silence. A minute or two ticked by and I was about to attempt charmspeaking him again to get it out of him, but luckily he spoke before I could try. "Feel free to keep calling Sammy "Puppy" that's just too good of an opportunity to pass up." I giggled but somewhere deep down I had a feeling that wasn't exactly what he wanted to say, and honestly I wasn't sure if I wanted to know what it was he was going to say anyways. Call it a gut instinct.

The drive back to the motel was pretty much filled with the music coming from his speakers and neither one of us really spoke. I lightly tapped my fingers on the door handle to the song that was playing, I think it might have been Bad Moon Rising by Creedence Clearwater Revival, because I think Ms. Lucas would listen to this one quite a bit. I will say I actually liked classic rock a lot more than I would ever admit to my sisters or brothers at camp. I had appearances to keep after all. But sitting in the car listening to the music reminded me of the weekends and days I spent in the car with Ms. Lucas. The only person who never abandoned me anywhere.

 _But I can't say I didn't leave her…_

I felt a slight lump in my throat as I thought of her. I wonder if she was ever worried about me, and if she still thought of me. It had been years since I last saw her. For the purpose of staying at camp and not being dragged down to the orphanage again I never contacted her after I ran off with the Satyr. Did she think of me at times or was she too busy now with whatever kids she had to work with, and at a certain point would I be nothing more than a distant memory?

 _She doesn't think of me anymore, I was probably one of the dozens of children she dealt with. Probably the most troublesome._

The thoughts of Ms. Lucas seemed to vanish when we pulled up to the motel and the music turned off as the engine died down. All I could think of was that I was going to be staying with my dad and uncle after years of searching and wondering why. _This_ was going to be my home now; in this car going to motels and diners. I bet no one at camp expected that me of all people, that Camilla Hale, was going to be actively monster hunting. I tried not to scoff at the thought and walked with my head held high into the motel. The Puppy was typing away on his computer when I sat the bag that contained his salad down on the table, and I was glad that at least one of these two ate pretty healthy meals.

* * *

Later that night in the motel I waited for the two men to fall asleep while I laid on a couch. Apparently my dad was a little nervous about letting his new daughter sleep alone in a different room. I don't know whether that was because he was nervous I was gonna run away (which was highly unlikely). Or that a monster was gonna come out of my closet and eat me (which was actually a good like twenty to eighty chance). Regardless I laid on my side curled into the blanket that I draped over the musty couch cushions when I heard the bed creek and someone quietly shuffling around. I kept my eyes closed and my breathing even, it was a little technique I learned when I was bouncing around foster homes. I wondered who was awake but I didn't want to blow my cover by looking, and then there were boots on the floor and the door opened. A cold breeze drifted into the room and I pulled the blanket a little more firmly over my shoulders-whoever was awake was going outside-and then the door closed and the room started to warm up. Noted. I would want to bring a jacket outside.

When I sat up in my makeshift bed, Sam was gone. My dad was still out cold on the other bed but I heard the car's engine start and lights grazed over the window as the sound of the engine drifted away. So I guess now is as good of a chance as any, because right now the only person I had to worry about waking up was the man sleeping on the bed since the other one decided to take a midnight car drive. I quietly rose from the couch, and for once I was thankful it wasn't a creaking bed frame while I moved over to my duffel where I had an outfit laid out for tomorrow. Thankfully I had the foresight to lay out my favorite rose gold scarf on top of the shirt; because the last thing I needed was to wake up my dad by unzipping and then zipping up the duffel bag of all things. If I were a normal kid there would be no way that I could sneak out successfully, because even my light footsteps had him stirring slightly. Dean had an awareness that was pretty good for a mortal but it had nothing compared to some of the Demi Gods I knew.

I didn't bother to put on shoes, since I was a little nervous that would create too much noise that would wake up the sleeping man. Instead I crept along the floor over to the door and opened it slowly and slid my body out of the door frame. I carefully slid the door shut with a soft click and then went down to the pool area where they had little grills. Don't worry security cameras, this was only gonna be the weirdest thing you see all year! That is if the mist doesn't cover it up to look like a little girl wanted to cook some hot dogs but clearly had no skill in doing so. Wait. That would be weird too so I guess one way or another this was going to be a weird sight. I climbed over the gated fence and walked over to the grill and set the scarf down on top of it and turned the dial to flip on the gas. Thankfully with a life like mine I got used to carrying around lighters in my pockets, because you never know when you suddenly want to send Mommy Dearest an offering.

I was grateful as I watched the scarf burn. In my Demi-God Fashion class 101 we were advised to only buy natural fibers in clothing. I know that sounds a little weird but there was a genuine reason my older sister stressed that point so much. As it turns out, synthetic fabric when exposed to extreme heat like, lets say, a flame (again super likely to be exposed to fire in my life) melts! Onto your skin! Ouch and gross on all levels. Now natural fibers have a different effect because they turn to ash and then flake off your skin and can be rinsed off. A really important distinction really, and so I sat there for maybe a half hour watching it turn to ash on the grill. Maybe I should go through my dad and uncle's duffels later and see what kind of fibers their clothes have, and hopefully they don't have too many synthetics in their closets.

"For you mom, just like I promised." I said before climbing back over the fence after I made sure that **everything** had burned up for my mom. "So thanks, for helping me get this far." I walked back down the sidewalk to the motel room and looked at the little red light on the door and froze.

 _You have got to be joking. How did I_ _ **forget**_ _to bring a key?_

Suddenly my whole sneaking around and burning my scarf in tribute to my mom seemed less like a good idea and more like an awfully miscalculated step. I stared at the door while I tried to wrack my brain on what to do. Climb through the window?

 _On come on Camilla, that would wake him up so fast! Not to mention I'm pretty sure I saw him lock and salt the window sill. Something about creating a protective barrier from all things that shout boo or want to take your soul._

I wanted to save knocking and waking up my dad to let me back in for a last resort, because then that would require having an excuse to tell him. The furthest I got on that end was half considering jumping into the pool and saying that I wanted to take a swim at one in the morning because the urge was suddenly there. I doubted that he would think too much of it considering I was a "kid" to him. As I thought about the consequences of jumping into a pool with magically styled hair, lights suddenly hit me from the parking lot and I whirled around and dropped into a crouch to fish out a knife that I carefully tucked into my pants. The lights died down and I saw that it was a car light, from my dads car, which my uncle was getting out of. Well... Mom this was either incredible luck or the worst possible timing. I didn't really have time to think about which one.

"Camilla?" I could practically hear the concern in his voice as he stared me down in the parking lot. I must have either looked very suspicious outside at this hour of the night or he was worried because I was his twelve year old niece (who attracts monsters) and was standing all alone outside in a sketchy motel parking lot. I briefly considered pretending that I was sleep walking but somehow I doubt a sleepwalker suddenly grabs a knife when they see lights. So that option was out before I could even try it.

"Heeeeeyyy Sam…" I said, quickly slipping the knife back into my pants, and standing to look at him.

"What are you doing out this late?" He asked. At this point the concern was starting to drain from his voice and he looked more suspicious. Great going Camilla. You have not been in their lives for more than twelve hours and you're already slipping up. Although I could have asked him the same thing, you know, considering he was out late at night and potentially doing something dangerous. While he may have been an adult who could do what he pleased, most people don't sneak out unless they have something secretive their doing. I mean my situation is a prime example!

"I… uh…" My mind scrambled to find an excuse. "I'm on my period." I blurted with a little less confidence that I would have liked to have. Puppy's face dropped a little, and so I guess that lack of confidence was thought of as embarrassment. Which was another emotion I was currently feeling so it wasn't as if it was too far off. I continued with my current lie though. "I completely forgot to pack… uh… _feminine_ hygiene… because I was in such a rush, and I didn't keep track of what week of the month it was... " I tried explaining. "I went down to the motel lobby to see if they had a pad or tampon dispensary in their bathroom, but the door is locked…" After a light pause, Puppy let out an ever-so-slight chuckle and gave me a slight smile.

"Need me to take you to a store?" He asked. I flushed a little in embarrassment.

"Yes please… I'm sorry." I looked down a little. While yes this was all a lie, it still felt embarrassing to ask for _that_ of all things within 24 hours of meeting them! Gods I just wanted the ground to swallow me now. However I wasn't quite ready to go to Lord Hades so I walked a little slowly over to my dad's car. Puppy slid back into the car and I shuffled over to the passenger side and slid in as well. He pulled out of the parking lot, and it was very weird to see how differently they drove. I saw Dean speed at least ten times during our trip, and Sam was going the _exact_ speed limit. So one of them clearly cared a little more about the traffic laws than the other one.

"So, what were you doing up this late?" I asked after some time as he pulled into the parking of a Walgreens. Thank the gods they were open for 24 hours.

"I couldn't sleep." He told me as he put the car in park. "Driving or walking around helps me calm down a little." He explained. I nodded and we dashed in, grabbed the _stuff_ , Puppy paid, and we dashed out. After that it was a pretty silent drive back, until the very end. "I'm sorry if we scared you earlier." He started. "Like Dean said, I would have preferred that you never had to know about this stuff, but it's better than keeping you in the dark. Just stick close to us, do as we say, and you won't get hurt by anything." He calmly warned. He seemed to genuinely care about me and my safety. It warmed my heart a little, to be cared about by someone else other than one of the campers.

 _Other than Ms. Lucas too._

"It's okay." I responded. "I knew this was going to be a very emotional week, but I didn't think it was going to have as many… roller coasters as it did." I let out a slightly uneasy breath. "Anyways, I'm just happy I found you guys." I confessed and gave him one of my heart-melting smiles. Despite all of the crazy and scary moments that were constantly going one since I arrived here I felt at peace. While the actual relationship with these two was going to be a bumpy road, they are willing to _try_. That's all I needed. I just wanted someone to _try_ so even if this didn't work out the best at least I know there was an effort put in. But my Gods I hope that this will work out.

"I… This life isn't going to be an easy one, and we will be on the road a lot." Sam said as he turned into the parking lot of the motel. "I think Dean said that tomorrow we were gonna pull off the road somewhere more isolated to set up some shooting targets for you. Practice a little bit every day."

"Shooting targets?" I asked. "Shooting with what?" I blinked. What they do wasn't so dangerous they would _actually_ use guns. Right?

 _They were going to shoot_ you _with guns earlier remember?_

"With guns." Puppy confirmed. Guns. The name had weight to it. I always saw them in shows on the T.V, and Chiron had, of course, warned us about them while we were out and about on quests, but I didn't think that I would be actually using one. Ever. "Shotguns and pistols mainly." He continued. "Throwing knives might suit you too."

Well I wasn't Annabeth with a knife by any means but I did alright. Archery wasn't really my forte either. I preferred close combat, but I could see why Sam and Dean were concerned, considering my height and my age. They don't know what training I've had to endure to get to where I am. I've only been at the camp for four years but, I'd say I've improved quite a bit. I have to be careful when it came to details about camp… I'm still not sure how they would take it. Not to say they wouldn't believe me, I definitely think they would, but I don't know if they would be _okay_ with the fact I'm not entirely… human.

I felt a little pit in my stomach forming at the thought. Did they hunt Demi-Gods too? Or would they if they knew that they were related to one. I mean there have been some fanatics that did crazy things in the name of their religion, although I wouldn't say that I was one of them or even close. Sure I sacrificed to my mother almost nightly but it wasn't like I was killing Gizmo the cat and tossing him in a fire. I gave my mom clothing or foods that I thought she would enjoy or that I personally liked. I can't even begin to describe how many croissants that I offered up to her in the past month. Clearly the pastries were the way to go because look where I am now.

When we pulled into the parking space outside of the motel room Sam was the first one out, although I was not far behind him. I followed my uncle up to the door, and watched as he unlocked the door with his keycard. I still couldn't believe I forgot that damn thing. Still, it made for good conversation with my uncle, so I can't complain _too_ much. I felt like we bonded a little in the car so you know, a win is a win. We went inside and I was fully prepared to collapse into my little makeshift bed and sleep till morning, but fate as it would seem had different plans for me. Because the moment we walked in the light flipped on and Dean was sitting on the edge of his bed. I glanced at the time and it was almost two in the morning. We were gone a little longer than I had thought.

"Where were you two? I woke up to find you both missing. To find baby missing." Dean didn't sound very happy when he spoke and it made me stop walking. Almost made me stop breathing for a moment too- not gonna lie. I almost forgot how scary he can be. If I wasn't so freaked about the way he was glaring at us I might have taken offence to being called _baby_ , twelve, remember?

"Well..." Sam struggled a little with what he wanted to say, but honestly my mind was caught on the fact that telling my dad I was sacrificing my scarf to Mom, who was a Goddess, was not the best way to tell them I was a Demi-God.

"I… Locked myself outside, when I tried to go to the motel lobby for… something..."

" _Something,_ " He emphasized the word as if I dishonored his cow. His eyes were narrowed into a little scowl and honestly if looks could kill I would have been dead already. "What something?" He asked, still seeming kind of angry. I swallowed the lump in my throat and vaguely wondered if this was what dads did.

"I'm on my period." I stated, and in an attempt to show my surrender I held up the box of tampons I had previously clutched to my chest. He quickly went from anger, to confusion, to almost fear as he processed that I am indeed a girl, and this is now a routinely, monthly thing that happens. His facial expression was something that I could only describe as "oh" sort of when you're suddenly feeling sheepish and maybe a little bit (or a lot bit) uncomfortable. My poor dad was as white as a sheet and he looked a little petrified. This moment was forever captured in my memory as I was half horrified and half amused. Too bad there wasn't a camera to capture this lovely family moment.

"So where the hell were you then Sammy?" He demanded, seemingly turning his anger around on my uncle rather than me. Which I won't lie, was welcomed. I would sacrifice Puppy to my dads wrath any day if it meant I got out of it unscathed.

"She can't drive your car Dean, she's twelve." Sam deadpanned and honestly that was a little smooth of him. The man was a professional bullshitter, and I was a little proud. What a family. "I saw her and when I asked what she was doing she explained the situation. So I loaded her up in the car and ran her to the store so she could take care of the issue she was having."

I silently cheered as Uncle Puppy was defending me, which took his previous status of potential Bad Dog completely off the record and he was now forever more the Good Puppy. Until he messes up again. Or wears something awful, like… Leg warmers… Orange ones would be even worse. Not likely to happen, but has potential. He already has a lot of plaid and luckily for him it's in season right now, but I have take points off for wearing _multiple_ plaid shirts at once. I have a thing or two to teach these two. Another day.

"U-Um… Well then… Go get situated Cammi." _Cammi_? Did he just… "We have an early day ahead of us and I want to be checked out and on the road by 7:30am." I cannot believe he called me Cammi, what a… what a uncute name! Mattie tried that once and I promptly put clown makeup on his face for two solid days, and made his hair bright yellow. Not blond. _Highlighter Yellow._ I shiver just thinking about it, and dashed into the bathroom. Unfortunately I couldn't put makeup on him for calling me _that_ , especially when he doesn't know what I am. I was just barely closing the door when I heard my dad and Sam talk.

"Is this going to be… regular?" He asked.

"Yea Dean. Girls have periods." Sam stated as-a-matter-of-factly, but I didn't miss the amusement in his voice.

"Son of a bitch…" His voice sounded almost defeated. "I'm going back to bed." He groaned and I could hear movement outside my door and a chuckle escape from Uncle Puppy.

I pretended to "get situated" for about five minutes in the bathroom and came back out, stuffed the box in my duffel and covered my face with my blanket and tried to delete the last hour from my memory. All except my dad's priceless facial expression.

 **Author's Note:**

 **Responding to the comments on Celestial Bronze, so we liked everything that we were reading about your guys responses (MangoCheese, AACM25, Ylandiir). Because we found it interesting to think about, and honestly we have to agree with Ylandiir. My co-writer and I discussed the matter and we agree that when a Demon possesses a human they also are effected by things that hurt the demon. Such as holy water burning them or people dying when trying to exorcise the demon. But we loved everyone's responses! So thank you for participating, and look forward to the next question.**

 **Skyggedrage: thank you for the kind words! We are glad you're enjoying it so far!**

 **Ylandiir: Dean finding out will certainly be an event, and we imagine that he probably won't be taking it too well.**

 **Eternal Wanderer: we are happy to hear you're enjoying the perspective and the childishness of Camilla. We try to really keep the notion of her being a child in mind when we write (its super weird being 23 and writing about a 12 year old girl).**

 **Question: how do you think the Gun training is gonna go for Camilla?**

 **Trivia: Camilla is a huge fan of Aly and AJ. Her current favorite song is "Like Whoa".**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

 **Authors** **Note** **:** **SO, SO, SO SORRY THE CHAPTER IS A LITTLE LATE! With the holidays going on, A and I got** ** _very_** **busy with entertaining family, guests etc... Anyway! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter! And as a little Christmas gift from A and I, hope you enjoy 5.2 afterwards.**

 **Thank you everyone for supporting us! If you have any comments, questions or concerns, feel free to contact us. :3**

 **\- A & J**

Alexandria, Virginia

"Runaway"

I awoke with a headache, hearing the car slow down and come to a stop. Gods… I don't know how they can just sit in this car for hours and _not_ have cramped up legs and sore backs all the time. Well… they probably did and are either a) just used to the pain, or b) choose not to acknowledge their severe back issues and will later regret their poor decision-making in their late 50's.

"Hey, wake up the kid," My dad said and I didn't really appreciate being called a _kid_. "I'm going to get some bottles set up." That comment just sort of swirled in my head. What on earth do you need bottles for? Do I look like an infant to them?

"Right. What kind of gun should we have her practice with first?" Wait a minute, did they just say… I must have heard them wrong. "A shotgun for the rock salt? Or maybe a pistol to get used to shooting first?" No… They wanted me to practice firearms. I couldn't use a bow and arrow, and I imagine this isn't gonna be any easier.

"I'm going to start her with a pistol, a shotgun is only going to dislocate her shoulder and she needs to learn how to aim first." I heard the car doors open and the crunching of gravel before I looked at the back car door opening up. I stared down at my Puppy Uncle as he smiled at me. As if attempting to look so nice and happy when they were aiming to make me shoot guns.

"Hey Cam," he started, but didn't get very far.

" _Camilla_." I emphasized. " _Cam_ isn't a cute nickname. It sounds like a boy's name." I protested and he had the audacity to look amused.

"Right then, _Camilla_ ," he emphasized back at me and I resisted the eyeroll that was desperately trying to break loose. "Hop out of the car and stretch your legs. Dean pulled off onto a country road and we want to start working with you on how to use guns. There's still quite a bit of daylight out so when you get the basics or at least understand the basics we'll pull into the next town."

"Do I have to?" I asked, and I couldn't help the whine that worked its way into my voice. My dad leaned into the door frame of the car and a bag slung over his shoulder,

"Yea, if you need to fight off a monster and we aren't close enough you need to be able to use a gun. Silver is the only thing that will hurt a werewolf and we have special bullets. Or if something is coming at you then you can temporarily halt it with a gun." He tapped the top of his car and grinned. "So get out here Princess it's time for target practice." He then stalked off into the the beginnings of a wheat field near the highway. I saw him set down a duffel on the ground and I followed him, watching him take out a few guns, two of them looking pretty different. I watched him take out the clip out of one, and then the bullets out of the other.

"This is all going to be basic handling stuff Camilla. Take it easy, and take as much time as you need. We're not expecting you to be able to take apart and put a gun back together in one day." Uncle Puppy piped up from the back. I could hear dad exhale "yet" and I couldn't decide if I wanted to smile or roll my eyes at the idea of it.

"Come here Camilla." My dad called. I tentatively walked over to him. Gods I really didn't want to do this, but… if they insist… Who knows? I might have a skill the other campers might not have. Maybe shooting with a bow and arrow was different than shooting with a gun. At least that's what I had hoped. "You ever shoot before?" He asked.

"I took some archery lessons at camp, but I wasn't very good at them. Still not very good to be honest." I admitted. "Never touched a gun before. Let alone seen one in real life." My eyes drifted down to the guns he held in his hands. One looked like one of the guns the FBI carry around. Black, modern looking, and looks like it could fit in a case. The other looked like it belonged in a Clint Eastwood movie.

"Eh, yea, That's really not the same type of thing. Although it would be cool to use a crossbow."

"You asked me if I ever shot anything before. You _shoot_ an arrow from a bow." I stated. I could see the corners of his mouth curl into a grin.

"Really? Doesn't sound like _you_ did." He stated and I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.

"Yea, and now it sounds like I _will_ be going back to the car and going back to sleep."

"Nice try kiddo," my dad moved me closer to him and took the empty gun and put it in my hands. The weight was uncomfortable. "But you are learning to shoot today. Or at the very least how to properly hold a gun so that you won't blast your finger off." He said, and then made a point to move my pointer finger so it wasn't on the hole of the gun. You know, where the bullet comes out from.

"Can't go around ruining my perfectly polished nails now can I?" I asked, and he rolled his eyes.

"Yea, I think having four fingers instead of five might ruin your whole look." Dad rolled his eyes as if the thought of my nails getting ruined wasn't the worst thing, and I puffed my cheeks out a little. Now don't get me wrong, most people were not exactly the sweetest after a long car ride. You know there were those who get irritated and a little snippy. So he was honestly very lucky that _I_ am such a delight. So his dad humor got a pass for now. He gets one a day. For now.

"Ok, fine." I relented. "Show me so we can get this over with." I said, trailing behind him to in front of the bottles.

"I'm going to start you off with a pistol. It's a good learn-the-basics gun." He stated. "What hand are you dominant with?" He asked.

"Right." I answered.

"Ok, hold it with your right hand, you want your thumb straight against the side, towards the front, and your pointer finger parallel with it on the other side. Do not put your finger on the trigger unless you are about to shoot." He instructed. I followed as much as I could. Holding the gun with one hand was an odd experience. It was much heavier this way and I felt like I was going to drop it like this. "Now take your other hand and cup it around your dominant hand to support it. Do it however it's comfortable, but keep the position of your right hand like I showed. I did as he said and brought my other hand up and kept both arms as straight as I could. "Don't keep 'em straight like that, loosen up a little." He said, standing behind me and adjusting my shoulder and arms. "Now, keep that up, you want your feet shoulder with the part, but one foot more forward than the other. That's gonna keep you from falling on your ass when the recoil hits." I adjusted my feet accordingly, and now holding the gun felt a lot easier. It was still heavy, but supported.

"Like this?" I timidly asked. It was weird hearing him like this. It was like he was a different person. Definitely G.I Joe-esque.

"Almost. Relax your shoulders a little more, and take deep breaths. There you go. Remember how this feels. It's going to be weird for a while, but after a while it'll feel natural. Now, look down the barrel. You see those things sticking out the top of it?" He asked. My eyes followed down the gun, and sure enough there were a couple spots that stuck out more than the rest of the top of the gun. I nodded. "Those are your sights." He said. "I'm going to show you how to line those up to aim and hit whatever you're aiming at." He continued on to explain how to aim and adjust my posture.

It felt like hours before I finally understood what he was talking about with the sights and aiming and all. He had me cock it back and pull the trigger a couple times before loading it with bullets. The gun suddenly felt a lot heavier. Not just physically either.

"Alright, I'm not expecting you to be able to hit these right off the bat ok? It's going to take some getting used to. Try shooting those bottles over there. We're about ten feet out." He handed me some ear plugs and instructed me to put them in. I nodded and did so, then took my stance and aimed the sights like he showed me.

 _Halfway up the target… all three sights lined up in a straight line… focus on the target but allow your eyes to half focus on your far sight._

"Pull the trigger when you're ready. It's going to be loud even with the plugs in. It's going to recoil a hell lot more than when you pulled the trigger before. Try and keep you arms in front of you, but if the recoil is too much, lift your arms and let them go over your head. If you fight it, it's going to come back and hit you in the nose." He said. I gave him a nod and looked at the three bottles lined up. I took a deep breath in, and took aim, and pulled the trigger.

To my surprise nothing happened. It was to Dean's surprise too and he frowned and took the gun and aimed it and shot at a bottle, but nothing happened.

"What the hell? I checked the gun before I handed it over." He mumbled as he inspected the pistol and frowned when he saw it was jammed. What can I say? Demi-Gods and guns really aren't a mix. I was about to suggest that maybe this was a divine intervention (because it probably _was_ on my mom's side), but before I could he handed me the Clint Eastwood gun and I wrinkled my nose at it.

"You remember the basics I showed you? Well this one is a revolver, and it is far less prone to jamming. So it might be better than the pistol." He said as he watched my adjust my stance and hold the gun as he instructed before. Somewhere in the background I could hear Uncle Puppy walking around, but I tried to ignore it as I took another deep breath and took aim. I pulled the trigger, and partly expected that nothing was going to happen. But hey, I'm only a daughter of Aphrodite and I can be wrong, _sometimes_ , so when the sound went off it almost tore through my head, and probably would have if it weren't for the ear plugs. The recoil kicked me back a little, and I lost my footing.

 _Annabeth would be_ so _mad._

I blinked and shook my head to bring me back to reality. I had missed the bottle but I could see Dean smile. I exhaled a long-held breath and relaxed.

"It's ok Camilla, try again. Empty out the chamber and that'll be it for today." He encouraged. Odd. I thought most dad's would never even think of the day their daughter _ever_ has to hold a gun. My dad was the one who put the gun in my hand.

I took my stance again and took aim. I think the kick surprised me, but now I know what to expect. I pulled the trigger again and I stood my ground, seeing the bullet fly past to the right where I was aiming. I aimed again, and pulled the trigger. A cloud of dirt flew into the air about six feet in front of me. I blinked and looked at my sights again and adjusted again. I pulled the trigger again and saw more dirt fly a little closer to the bottles, but I still hit the ground.

"You're flinching still when you're pulling the trigger." Dad called out. I looked over at him. "Just one smooth pull on that trigger. The barrel is aiming down when you're flinching. Keep a firm grip, and feel the recoil, but relax." He instructed. I nodded and brought the gun up again and tried to relax a little.

I aimed again, and pulled the trigger. I saw the bullet hit about four inches _below_ the bottle. I readjusted a little and took a breath in, and pulled the trigger again. I saw the bottle shatter into pieces before I registered the sound of the shattering glass. My eyes widened and I straightened up a little.

"I hit it!" I exclaimed in excitement. I practically jumped and felt the gun get snatched from my hands.

"Although it is empty, now would be a good time to show you the safety setting." Dad smiled and winked at me.

"Good hit Camilla!" Puppy cheered from behind. I looked over at Dad and saw him smile and give me a thumbs up with a wink.

We drove into a cute little town called Alexandria and to be honest this just seemed like my kind of place. They had an old town with cute little boutiques and there may have been one or two bakeries that I spotted as we drove to a little restaurant. Let me tell you, it seemed that my family had a weakness for food that seemed… Comforting? Judging by the type of joints we seemed to frequently stop at. To be honest as we pulled into one of the parking spaces that we had to circle around for the fact that I still haven't mentioned to them that I was a daughter to a Goddess was starting to weigh on me. I mean… they were monster slayers or as they called themselves "hunters" _which seemed awkward when I knew the Huntresses._ I couldn't just never tell them.

So when I hopped out of the car and walked up behind Sam and Dean into the tiny restaurant I steeled myself. I was going to tell them today, and I had already prolonged it more than I should have. It has been four days since I met them and they were honestly… Wonderful… Despite the terrifying aura they had, the same ten songs on repeat, the bickering, and the tension that seemed to exist between my uncle and dad. No family was ever going to be perfect and I found that they both suited me, and for the first time, since I found camp, I felt safe. Like being out in the mortal world wasn't going to get me killed due to my lack of confidence in fighting.

"Just the three of you?" The woman wearing a uniform at the podium asked, and my uncle nodded. She gathered three menus in her arms and walked over to a booth table near a window. "Your waitress will be Diane. She'll be with you in just a moment." The hostess said with a smile and walked back to her podium to wait on whoever walked in next. Maybe a minute or so later a woman with too much blue eyeshadow, and curly blonde hair walked over loudly chewing gum.

"Can I get y'all started with drinks?" The woman asked as she looked my uncle and dad up and down. I could tell she was a little enamored but nothing that really went beyond finding them attractive.

"I'll have a water." Puppy said.

"Coffee. I'll have it black." Dad said, and I grimaced at both their answers. Water and black coffee? Ew. How could such complex and interesting people have such _boring_ drinks? Sam's was sensible since drinking water was good for your skin and helps prevent wrinkles. Deans? Ugh. I don't know how anyone can drink _coffee_ of all things _and_ drink it black. Gross and bitter on multiple levels.

"I'll have a strawberry milkshake." I said and chose to ignore the looks they both gave me. This girl likes sugar okay? Not only that but I have taste buds.

"Alright, so I have a glass of water, black coffee, and a strawberry milkshake. Coming right up." The waitress said as she jotted down our drink orders. "I'll give you a couple of minutes with the menu while I get those drinks for you." She spun on her heel and walked off to get us our drinks and I looked at the menu. The sandwich melt looked really good: it was made up of ham, cheese, bacon, and egg. I watched Dean and Sam bicker a little over the menu, because it seemed that Dad intended to get something greasy and Puppy was more inclined to eat healthy. To be fair, for their active lifestyle they really should eat well.

A few minutes ticked by and the waitress came back with our drinks and I was delighted to see that my milkshake had a nice topping of whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. The waitress was after my heart and let me tell you, it was working like a charm. I happily sipped some of my milkshake while Dean drank his coffee and Sam was drinking water. At a point Sam pulled his laptop out while we waited for food, and I figured if we were going to talk it should be before he gets lost in the digital world.

"You said that we won't have any secrets right?" I asked and practically saw the two of them still at the same time. A look crossed over my dad's face and I wasn't really sure what to make of it.

"Um, yea." Dean cleared his throat and set down his coffee. "Was there something you wanted to talk about?" He asked but there was a bit of an edge to his voice, and it made me almost lose my nerve. I looked down at the milkshake and stirred it with my straw while trying to sort out my thoughts. What do I say...

"W-Well… Yea," I sounded nervous even to my own ears, so I imagined to theirs I probably sounded a little worse. "I um.. I have a confession to make." I admitted.

"What? You're not actually my daughter and just wanted an excuse to ride around in a cool car?" Dean joked, or at least I think he was joking.

"Ha, no. I am every bit your daughter." I smiled, and continued to focus on my drink. "I actually… I lied a little. You asked me if I knew who my mom was and I told you that I didn't. Which isn't to say that I have actually ever met her, because I never have. Not in person anyways. But I do know who she is." I rambled on.

"What?" My dad's voice hardened and I flinched.

"Dean… Calm down, and Camilla." Sam looked at me but I didn't meet his gaze. "Why would you claim to not know who she is?" He seemed a little more level headed.

"I… I was nervous on how to bring it up because my mother is… Well…. My mother is a little different." _Goddess of Love and Beauty was a little more than "different"..._ "I couldn't have stayed with her. I mean she's not exactly allowed to be in my life a whole lot." I tried to explain.

"So when I asked you who your mom was you deliberately lied?" My dad's voice was practically dripping with disappointment. "Well Camilla. Who is she?" He asked, although it hardly felt like a question.

"My mom is Aphrodite..."

"I'm pretty sure I would remember if I slept with a girl named Aphrodite. I mean, who names their kid after a pagan?" Dean asked and I didn't miss the venom in his voice at the word _pagan_. I felt myself sit a little straighter and something stirred in my gut. Confidence? Or maybe the desire to defend that my mom was Aphrodite, and more than just a pagan myth.

"My mom _is_ Aphrodite." I emphasized and watched the color drain from both of their faces. But I didn't stop, even though I probably should have. "I don't know what she called herself when you met her, but my mom is Aphrodite. You know, the whole nine yards." There was a moment of silence.

"My daughter is a compulsive liar." Dean stated and I glared. Compulsive liar, kleptomaniac, attention brat, and other things that I didn't like being called.

"I am not lying. My mom a Greek Goddess. I've known since I was about nine."

"After you ran away from foster care." Sam stated, and seemingly putting the pieces together.

"So let me get this straight," Dean moved his hand out, as if clearing away invisible space to draw out his thought process. "You're saying that I _unknowingly_ slept with a Pagan Goddess when I was seventeen. Then spawned a pagan kid?" I clenched my hands in fists at my sides on the booth chair. I couldn't help but feel bitter from the way he phrased it. He sounded disgusted. As if he didn't know who I was just a couple hours ago. As if he completely forgot the fact that I was his actual flesh and blood.

"Dean, calm down a little. It's not like she's doing human sacrifice or anything." Sam started and then looked at me. "You aren't doing human sacrifice right?" He asked and I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. Embarrassment or anger? I don't even know.

"No." I gritted out. "We do not sacrifice humans- which we have half of- to our Immortal parents." My tone was blunt and I couldn't bring myself to care if there was some sharpness there too. I wanted to leave.

"So what then?" Dean asked. "You offer your own blood or maybe a gem?"

"I offer half of my dinner every night!" I stated. I felt the bubble in my chest grow larger. My inner self was throwing a tantrum and tearing down everything in anger.

"Sammy, a word." Dean said and got up from the table. Sam glanced at me and then his brother before he got up too and they walked back towards the door talking in hushed but sharp tones.

 _They're going to leave you here. They're going to call your case manager and have you shipped back to New York-if you're lucky enough to avoid Iowa-and claim that you were crazy. They don't want you. All they see is the part of you that isn't human. You blew it after two days._

I carefully and slowly got up from my seat at the table and walked back towards the bathroom, since the front door was now being blocked. My blood felt cold and I could feel the shame prickling at my eyes, but I clenched my jaw and refused to let a single tear fall from my eyes. I was not going to let them make me cry for being who I was born to be. I pushed the door open and was relieved to see that with this older style building there was a window in the bathroom, which I could easily slip through. They have my bag… In the car… At least I definitely kept my knife strapped to my calf after the hotel fiasco. I guess I just had to leave my pink duffel behind. I'll get by. I did feel a bit of regret when I thought of my poor shoes that have to be in the company of _those two_.

With a slight grunt I climbed onto the counter and desperately tried to ignore the water seeping into the palms of my hands. Apparently the staff couldn't be bothered to wipe down a few things, and I pushed the window open, silently thanking the Gods it was a single story restaurant. I swung my leg over, and maneuvered my body to drop on the ground, and my feet hit the pavement. I took off in the direction opposite of the car I arrived in, and tried to navigate the alleyways while looking for the closest bus stop.

 **Authors Note:**

 **Writer's Obsession: Thanks! Thought it would be a funny little moment. Hope this chapter satisfied some of your wonder about her Demi-God heritage. More next week :) As for fixing their wardrobe... its a careful and delicate process. :D**

 **DemeonMortem: Thanks for reading! We will try our best!**

 **MangoCheese: Thanks for the reminder... haha**

 **WeylandCorp 4: Glad you like this one! As for the PJO gods fitting into SPN... Again, a delicate and careful thing... You'll know as soon as we do! haha**

 **Question: What is Camilla's favorite pie?**

 **Trivia: Camilla is a large fan of pie, like her father.**


	6. Christmas Special

**Chapter Five and a Half - The Christmas Special**

 **Authors Note:** **Merry Christmas everyone. Happy Holidays too!**

 **Next chapter will be updated on Jan. 8th 2019. Happy New Year everyone!**

I hugged my jacket around myself even tighter as I walked through the narrow alleyways all while trying to ignore the stinging tears that were threatening to overflow any minute. I would have kicked rocks in the alley or screamed if it would have made me feel better, but honestly I've tried those things before. I've cried, kicked, screamed, broken things, and threw myself to the ground and none of it ever made it feel better. I could have screamed till my throat was numb and cried until there was nothing left in me, but it never helped, and it never made the rejection feel any easier. I let a shaky laugh tumble its way out of my mouth and shoved the strands of dirty blonde hair out of my eyes. Gods, after _five_ foster families and countless passovers from other parents you'd think I would be _used_ to it, and after the Davidsons I promised I wasn't going to cry any more.

Wiping the tears from the corners of my eyes I ducked into a nearby store, and honestly I didn't even notice which one it was and beelined it straight to the back to find a restroom. All I really saw was three employees sitting on the floor trying to put together a fake evergreen Christmas Tree. One of which started to go into their customer service, "how can I help you" speech but abruptly stopped when a choked sob broke free from me and I dashed into the family restroom and locked the door behind me. My makeup was still in place when I looked in the mirror, so at least I wasn't a _complete and utter_ mess. One of the benefits of having magic makeup and hair that never comes off until I want it to. Unfortunately that does nothing about the whites of my eyes being puffy and a little red, so I guess I can't win at everything.

I dabbed at my eyes so that I could try to get most of the tears out before I completely lost control and became a sobbing mess. My eyes were shifting colors, and they were going from green to a very bleak grey and that almost pushed me over the edge. I hated when my eyes were grey especially like this because it wasn't a pretty color, oh no, it was a dull and gross shade of grey. Not that grey eyes were terrible all around, but on me, I did not approve. Although if they tried to look for me I guess when they say I'm a green eyed girl will only prove for me not to meet description. _Not that they're going to look for me, after all I'm a Monster Spawn_. I felt anger swelling in me and me eyes shifted to gross and muddy shade of brown as I slammed my fist into the mirror. I wish I could say I broke the mirror, as if I was some kind of she-hulk, but all it did was make my knuckles throb and I jumped up and down in the bathroom.

After a moment, or maybe five minutes, of collecting myself back into a presentable and semi cute but sad looking little teenager I walked back out of the bathroom. Huh. Maybe it was longer than five minutes because they had the tree up and standing proud as some of the employees started to decorate it. I watched as one of the girls draped one of the guys in the fuzzy, um, silver wrappy thing, that was made of foil… Garland! Foil garland! Then she put a little star on his head that fell off. Seeing the foil garland reminded me of the last Christmas I had spent with my various foster families and back then it was when I was staying with the Davidsons. I was eight at the time, and I was excited because the tree was a real Evergreen, and Mr. Davidson had personally cut it down from the woods behind the house. The Davidsons were nice… at first.

The stereotypical all white, nice smiles, and the reassurance of, "We'll take _such_ good care of you! You'll fit right in!" … Lies. All lies. All they saw me as was a paycheck. The nice house, the expensive tree, the smiles… all of it was a mask. My time there was Hades in a household for four months. Christmas time was the fourth and final month. The last real _family_ Christmas memory I had, since campers usually went home for their holidays, which was something I didn't really have.

I scoffed from the thought of that house. I could hear the younger kids crying in my head, the older ones not doing a damn thing, and the crack of Mr. Davidson's belt. All because we wanted to have some of the cookies we had baked that night, and obviously most of them were going to Santa but Mrs. Davidson wouldn't spare even one. There were two younger kids, and then three older ones including myself. I couldn't believe how many times I let that man get away with it before I finally grew a backbone. He wanted everything to seem as perfect as possible. Back straight, shoulders back, head high, _big smiles_. If any case manager came by or any possible adopters came be we had to be adoptable at _any_ given point. I definitely got a few hits for an escaped sigh, or eye roll.

The day I finally _did_ have enough I remember very vividly. The memory seemed to replay itself in my mind as I walked out of the store and into the cold air. The image of me sitting on that _disgusting_ grey carpet floor in the living room with the house phone clutched to my ear. I had _convinced_ one of the older girls to let me use the phone during her "talk time", and Ms. Lucas picked up after the third ring.

" _This is Darleen Lucas, how may I help you today?" She sounded so cheery, and ready to help as I always remembered._

" _Ms. Lucas… This is Camilla Hale..." My voice shaky, and hushed._

" _Camilla? Sweetie what are you doing up this late?" I could hear the light worry in her voice, "Aren't you supposed to be asleep? Santa doesn't come unless all the good little boys and girls are in their beds." She sounded happy still but the forced cheer wasn't in her tone anymore. Maybe she sounded a little relaxed?_

" _I… I want you to come get me." I stated matter-of-a-factly._

" _Sweetheart, I can't just come and get you." Ms. Lucas said, and I felt my lips quivering. "But, I can come by in about two days. We can go get ice cream and you can tell me about how you're adjusting in Andrea and Lewis' home."_

" _I can't… That's too far away." I whined._

" _Camilla…" She started. But I didn't give her the chance to speak._

" _No. He always uses the belt. I don't like it." I blurted as tears pricked at my eyes._

" _Belt? And he who? Lewis?" Ms. Lucas' voice went up an octave and I could hear the faint sound of her chair squeaking while she moved around._

" _All she does and stand behind him and watch while he yells at us." I whined. I heard a_ thwack _from down the hall and clutched the phone closer when Danny cried out._

" _What was that?" Ms. Lucas asked, and her voice somehow rose higher._

" _Danny tried to take a cookie..." I heard another_ thwack _and bit my lip a little. "I want it to stop. So I'm going to tell him no." I stated, and tried to muster enough courage to get off of the stained carpet. My legs didn't move._

" _No. Camilla. Stay on the phone. Is there a place to hide?" I could hear her move around her room, and heard the jingle of car keys. Her voice was stern, and it didn't suit her._

" _Are you coming to get me?" I asked, my spirits up a little higher._

" _Yes. I'm coming. But you can't go over to him, okay? Don't let him find you and hurt you more. Find a place to hide dear, I'll be right there."_

" _I..." I hesitated as I tried to stand up, to listen to Ms. Lucas. But then I heard Danny cry out again and his twin sister crying, and I knew she was being forced to watch Danny get hit. "I'm going to help Allison hide too." I stated with more confidence. Ms. Lucas is coming to get me, and I could be brave. Allison would want to hide too, and she will cry unless BunBun is with us._

" _No, Camil-" I drifted from hearing her voice and I could hear the faint whisper of another woman. Her voice was warm and full of silk, nothing like the high pitched tones of Mrs. Davidson._ The phone is too loud. _I furrowed my brow and heard the car starting over the line._

" _The phone is too loud Ms. Lucas." I pulled it from my ear and could still hear the frantic calling of my name when I pressed the red button. I looked down the hall and found that the smacks from the belt had stopped, but Allison's sobbing had not, and Danny was crying too. My arms and legs shook and I moved down the hall a little._ Big smiles little one, big smiles seem less threatening. _The silky voice rang in my ears again. Kind, and like she wore a smile. I couldn't help but trust it. I slowly walked down the hall and forced a smile on my face as I entered the room._

 _Mr. Davidson was standing in front of the crying Danny, his head held high, and his back straight, and his brown belt in his right hand._

" _What did I tell you boy?!" Mr. Davidson wailed as he slapped the belt onto his own hand. The sound made Danny flinch and cry harder and Allison tried to scoot closer to her brother on the floor. "Stand up straight, aren't you a man? Men don't cry! You're never going to get adopted if you keep that shit up!"_

" _Mr. Davidson." I worked as much sweetness into my voice as possible as I crossed my arms behind my back. Mrs. Davidson wasn't in there so maybe I could distract him long enough. "There is a man at the front door. I wouldn't open the door because you said we couldn't when it was passed five. But he insists that he needs you to sign for..." I struggled. "For something. He said kids don't understand."_

" _Alright." He grunted and gave Danny a final seething look before walking past me and towards the front door. I moved quickly into the room and helped Danny stand._

" _Can't stay in here, it would be too obvious." I stated and looked at him and his crying sister. "Shh. No crying." I mimicked the stern voice that Ms. Lucas had used on the phone and to my delight they both stopped._ The linen closet. _The voice rang again._ Crouch. _I hurriedly shepherd the twins into the closet across the hall. I had Danny crouch on the floor under the first shelf and then made Allison climb onto the shelf. "No crying." I stated while dragging my finger across my lips._

" _BunBun…" Allison whimpered. I closed the door and tried to dash into the room and looked for BunBun. The matted white rabbit was laying on top of the neatly made bed and I picked it up and ran back to the closet. I was opening the closet door and handing the bunny over when I heard the front door slam._

" _Camilla Hale!" Davidson's voice rang out and I quickly closed the linen closet door. I dashed down the hallway and into the kitchen when I heard his heavy feet stomp towards me. I felt a tough hand grab my shoulder and almost yank it out of my socket as I was pulled towards Mr. Davidson. My heart pounded in my ears, and all I could shout was_ No! " _What did I tell you about lying?" He growled when he yanked on my arm harder and I brought my own up to claw at his hand. It only made him angrier._

 _He threw me into the room and slammed the door shut behind him. My heart sank a little when I heard the lock click and knew I wasn't going to get out that easily. Mrs. Davidson still nowhere to be found, which was oh so shocking, he always went a_ little _easier when she was around. Just my luck I decided to be brave when she was having grown up juice or watching her soaps on the TV in their room. The volume_ just high enough _where she "couldn't hear a thing"._

" _You bring out the goddamn worst in those damn kids. Always rolling your eyes, or grumbling, and now telling more lies. I am not going to tolerate it anymore you brat." He stalked closer and I felt like my body was buzzing, ready to dodge left or right. "Hands on the wall."_

" _No." I retorted. It felt good to have my own voice. Ms. Lucas will be here any minute. If I could just stall him until then…_

" _What did you just say?" His head cocked to one side with his eyes bewildered._

" _No! No more!" I yelled._

" _Hands on the wall!" He raised his left hand up and brought it down towards my face. I ducked down under his hand and moved away from him. That only seemed to make him angrier and I could see ugly blotches of red forming on his skin around his face. "Come here you little shit!" He lunged at me._

" _No!" I screamed and rolled to the other side of the room. He slammed into the bed and I could practically see steam coming from his ears. He was mad. Beyond mad, and it made him sloppy. I dashed to the door and turned the lock, Almost! I felt him grab me again and slam me against the wall. I fell to the ground with the wind knocked out of me and tried to catch my breath. He grabbed my hair and pull me to my feet. I screamed at the top of my lungs while trying to claw his his hand off my hair, and kicking my feet towards his legs. I got a good hit on a sensitive spot and he yelled and fell to his knees. I took the opportunity to yank the door open and flee the room._

 _I was running down the hallway back towards the Christmas tree when I heard him heave and fall against the door frame while trying to get himself up. I didn't dare look back when I dove down by the tree and knocked presents out of the way so I could try and burrow myself behind it. I twisted my body around to see where he might come from and I noticed a different color pass over the cream colored wall. It was red, and then it flashed to blue. The door slammed open and some men in dark blue uniforms came rushing in holding guns, one of them looked around and saw me under the tree. He crouched down and slid the gun into his hooster._

" _Hey there honey. You can come out." His voice was calm and some of the other men went down the hallway where Davidson was yelling something about a she-devil. I shook my head profusely at the stranger, and burrowed myself deeper in the tree. The officer eventually coerced me out by ensuring me Mr. Davidson was never going to touch me again, and asked where the other kids were._

 _When I was being carried outside I saw Ms. Lucas' car pull up across the street a little behind some of the cars with the flashing blue and red lights. One of the officers tried to stop her when she started moving towards me but she quickly shouted that she was my case manager and I struggled to get down. When the officer lowered me to the ground I sprinted, in that moment not caring that my feet were staining black from the street, and flung myself into her legs._

" _Ms. Lucas! I hid them, I hid them like I said I would."_

" _Oh Camilla…" She sobbed and dropped down to hug me back. The rest was a blur when I was put in the backseat of her car after a person called EMT checked me for bruising. Ms. Lucas said she was going to drive me to the hospital so that Danny and Allison could ride in the longer van to the hospital. I sat in the backseat with the window cracked down after playing with the little handle. I could hear her talking to Mrs. Davidson._

" _You can't just take them!" She screamed, her face with green stuff on it and her hair in a cap._

" _Your_ home _is unfit. You and your husband will be getting contacted by the court for your actions. For the safety of the children we placed in your care, they will all be removed at once."_

" _Ha. And who will want them? You have no idea, that little demon child stirs everything on! She is unadoptable."_

 _My heart dropped. This meant a new house. New family. Again. I kept hearing the words "unadoptable" ring in my ears. I didn't want to risk being in another Davidson house. I pulled at the handle and the door came loose and opened up._ Go on, my little dove. _I heard that voice again and it was all I needed to push myself from the seat. I quickly scurried out and ran as far as I could._

 **Authors Note:** **Thanks again for reading!**

 **Question: What name do you think Aphrodite gave Dean as an alias?**

 **Trivia: Camilla does not discriminate again pie types, but if she** ** _had_** **to pick one, French Silk Pie.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

 **Author's Note** **: Hey everyone we hope you had a happy holiday! We were working like dogs but thank goodness it is finally over! Here is the next official chapter that follows up with the actual story. Also if any of you were curious there will be a Supernatural Christmas chapter but that just depends on when we get to that part of season 3. In an attempt to post regularly we will be updating this story every two weeks usually on a Tuesday (or the latest a Wednesday if we forget to upload a chapter). As usual any responses to comments will be at the end of the chapter and we hope you all enjoy this one!**

 **\- A & J**

Alexandria, Virginia

"Wanted Dead or Alive"

*-*-*Point of view shift - Winchester*-*-*

The brothers walked outside, leaving Camilla in the diner. Dean huffed as he and Sam heard the door shut and they walked over to the Impala. His hand found his forehead and he could feel a migraine starting to settle in. This was the _last_ thing he needed, that's for damn sure. Between the demon bullshit, and Sam's lecture every five minutes about how Dean shouldn't have to die, everything was exhausting. Deans gaze shifted over to his baby brother and Sam gave him a hard look. A mixture of concern, and the "you're-about-to-get-a-lecture" look. Dean knew it a little all-too-well.

"What?" Dean snapped at his brother, not in the mood for whatever was about to come out of his nerdy face.

"Do I really need to tell you how everything you just did was on various levels of wrong and cruel?" Sam retorted.

"How was I supposed to take that Sam? Am I really supposed to buy that? A kid that shows up outta _nowhere_ says that _I'm_ her father, and then tells me that her mother is _APHRODITE_! _The_ Aphrodite, you know the whole nine yards: the immortal and pagan goddess of love who curses people and accepts human sacrifice! And that said supposed daughter is a _demi-god._ "

"I understand that this is weird Dean but _weird_ is kind of our norm. Would you rather her just continue to lie to us about what she is or who she is after _we_ came clean about hunting monsters?"

" _She_ is one of those things that we hunt!" Dean snapped. Although he immediately regretted putting that statement out in the universe. Sam balled up his fists and stepped closer towards Dean.

" _Camilla_ is not evil Dean! We hunt _evil_ things that run around eating or killing humans! She's been with us for an entirety of two days and I've not once seen any malicious or evil behavior. She even said that she doesn't do the human sacrifice thing, she gives up half her food! That seems pretty damn tame considering all the black altars and usual pagan god sacrificing we've repeatedly come across."

"And you believe her?! What if it's all a lie? What if she has a black altar that she has in a different part of the country, or if she falls in the same pattern as _literally_ everything else?" Dean's anxiety started growing high. The more he thought about it, the more he truly believed Camilla was going to turn on them.

"If she wanted to kill us or try something she would have tried already back at the motel. We should at least hear her out." Sam pointed out.

"So you're suddenly ok with this?! She's not human!" Again, instant regret to his choice of words. Some part of him was protesting that he was talking about _his daughter_ like that.

"She's half human and she's not hurting anyone! And I'm not saying I think she's 100% safe, I'm saying we should listen to what she has to say and take it with a grain of salt. Maybe she has proof to what she's saying. Maybe she as an explanation to it and we're not giving her the chance to say it while we're out here. She deserves a chance." Sam's gaze hardened. He could feel that he almost got Dean to buckle. That poor kid was probably just sitting in there by herself thinking somethings _seriously_ wrong with her.

 _A freak._

Sam practically shuddered thinking about it. He knew that feeling all too well and Camilla was too young… Too young to be feeling that way about herself.

"She lied to us. From the moment we met her she's been lying. She doesn't get a damn chance." Dean spat.

"To be honest Dean, we haven't been super honest with her either." Sam spat back, raising his eyebrow at his older brother.

"We have every excuse not to be." Referring to the fact that they travel the country hunting dangerous shit and that Dean has one foot in the grave. _Below_ the grave.

"And Camilla is just a twelve year old girl who bussed across the entire country trying to track down her very human dad, and build some sort of relationship with him. Who was scared about showing a _very_ not normal part of her life with him and he just made that fear real."

Dean could feel that right in his gut. Sam was right. Annoyingly, but very right. He heaved a heavy sigh and Sam's shoulders relaxed.

"Ok, fine. Let's go talk to her." Dean relented. Sam nodded and they both went back towards the diner.

When they walked back inside the first thing Dean noticed was the strawberry milkshake that was sitting all by itself at the table. While he didn't actually tell Camilla to stay put he sort of figured that the unspoken command was there. With a slight grunt Dean sat at the table and Sam stood beside it looking a little worried.

"What?" Dean sounded tired as he rest his chin on his palm, and casually leaned against the table looking at Sam. Another lecture-face.

"You're not the least bit concerned that Camilla isn't here?" Sam asked, and Dean frowned a little.

"What? She's a kid Sam. She probably went to the bathroom or something. Her duffle bag is in baby so it's not like she's just going to run off." Dean said. "Listen, I want to talk to her too but I don't think kicking down the bathroom door is going to help."

"And what if she did run off Dean? You're weren't exactly being the most understanding person here, and she might have decided to run off." Sam argued.

"Don't need to scold me again," Dean rubbed his temples, "and if she wanted to run off she would have had to go out the front door. There isn't another entrance and we would have seen her. Plus these windows don't open." Dean motioned to the window beside the table. Sam gave one of his famous bitch faces and Dean sighed.

"She could have gone out the back door." Sam argued. Dean frowned at the thought, and he doubted that the staff would let a little girl wonder into the kitchen and out the back door. But now that the idea was in his head it seemed to just stick. After a moment Dean waved over a waitress and gave her one of his charming smiles. She was a pretty blonde with curly hair and the uniform seemed to hug her just right.

"Hey," Dean took a moment to look at the name tag she wore, "Susan, you know the girl that was sitting here. Did you see where she went?" He asked and the waitress gave him a look and didn't offer a smile in return. The slight frown was actually rather hot on her, but he imagined a smile would look nicer.

"The pretty little blonde? Yea, I saw her." The waitress answered a little flatly and Dean's smile faltered a little. When she didn't say anything else Sam jumped in.

"We stepped outside to talk for a minute and she was gone, um, did you happen to see where she ran off to?" Sam asked, and the waitress turned an unimpressed eye to him now. She brushed some of the blonde curls face from her forehead and looked at the Winchesters.

"Well after your little stunt here, oh you know, the shouting. Poor thing looked about ready to cry." The waitress was full on glaring at the brothers now. "So she went to the bathroom and that was about seven minutes ago." The waitress added.

"Seven minutes? That's a long time right?" Dean asked. The waitress smiled then, but it was more like a smirk really.

"Well.. If I wanted to get out of an awkward situation I would excuse myself to the restroom. Then I would climb out the window, which are fully functional in there."

Dean's face fell, and Sam's went white. With that, Dean dashed towards the restroom and Sam ran out the front while the waitress disappeared into the kitchen and the scent of flowers went with her. When Dean threw open the bathroom door he felt his face drop more and he cursed when he saw the open window. He didn't hesitate to walk in there and look out the window to see where it lead, and frowned as he looked down the alleyway. He closed his eyes for a second as he thought of what route his daughter would take when running away.

"If I was running…. I wouldn't go to the main street, because I would likely be seen by the two people outside and probably by someone in the restaurant because of the windows… So then I would have gone the other way, but I have no car so… Bus." Dean opened his eyes and looked down the alleyway again and saw his brother turning the car to head down it. Luckily Sam had a sense of where the bathroom window let out.

"Sammy!" Dean shouted and leaned his head outside the window, because it was unlikely he was gonna fit his whole body out. "I think she took off down the alleyway. See what you can find! I'll meet you out there." Dean turned and ran out of the bathroom and tossed two twenties on the table and shouting to his waitress to keep the change before rushing out the door and going to where Sam was. By the time he got there his brother was already out of sight and Dean wasted no time moving through the narrow walkway to try and get some idea of where his daughter went.

*-*-* Camilla's Point of View *-*-*

I was walking down the side of a clothing store I walked out of, and tried to push the memories of Christmas with foster families out of my mind. I sniffed and rubbed at my eyes some more, but no makeup smudged onto my hand so luckily the charm was still in place despite feeling like a mess right now.

 _Now isn't the time to be feeling sorry for myself._ I thought bitterly. I needed to find a bus station so I could get out of this little nightmare trip and go home. Home where Mattie was waiting in the Hermes cabin and where my sisters would gush about the newest makeup palette that Sephora had coming onto their shelves soon. While I would have to do camp activities and possibly clean the battle arena at least I would be with my people… Since apparently being half human pushed me all the way into the deep end of being classified as a Monster. Cause you know; monsters typically hunt other monsters right? Eat them and kill their friends.

I huffed while feeling more cooped up as my rage continually built at the thought of my own father rejecting me. Cause while I may have been rejected before-although I can't imagine why seeing as I am a treasure-they were never my _real_ family. Those families with the large smiles and broken promises were temporary homes while I searched for my real one, and I hoped that my real home would be with my mortal dad… But I never should have come here, and I never should have searched for them. They didn't want me, and my own grandpa dropped me at an orphanage with a fake name. I always hoped it was circumstantial, and they were only trying to "give me my best chance at a good life" but really… I was a probably a problem to them before then. Maybe John always thought I was a monster too… Even before he knew me.

I stopped walking then, and it felt like my legs just wanted to give out as I slumped against the wall. Slowly I slid to the ground, and for once I didn't care about how dirty it was or that I was in public sitting on the concrete of an alley. I wiped more tears and bit down on my knuckles to stop the sobs that were breaking their way from my throat. I was done crying… I've cried enough.

"Oh looksies~What do we have here?" An annoyingly familiar shrill voice had the audacity to sound amused and I groaned. I also considered hitting my head against the wall but frankly Mimmi would have enjoyed that way too much and I wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.

"Gods… Why are you here? And now of all times? Don't you have children to snack on the dreams of?" I asked and slid my hand to my boot and felt for the hilt of my knife.

"Why would I need anything like that when I have a little lost Demi-God right here? And no Saytr to save you this time _Cami_." She was trying to provoke me. I swear. No one gets to call me Cami. Ever.

*-*-* Winchester Point of View *-*-*

"I don't see her, and there's no way she had enough time to get too far from us." Sam called out as he came into view from around the corner.

"Then she ducked into a store, the question is which one." Dean said as he looked around he followed Sam into a space where the alley opened up into a square and there were several little shop displays. He looked at the different stores and tried to figure out which one she went into. _Probably not the comic one, and I don't think she would have walked into the gift card looking thing. Maybe the clothing store?_ Honestly he barely thought about going in there when he heard a scream come from down a different alleyway.

"You're not getting away this time _Cami_!" The voice had an edge to it, like it had just won. It took Dean an actual 11 seconds before clicking it in his head.

"Camilla!" He shouted, bolting towards the direction of the voice shouting "Cami", and Sam was right on his heels as they whipped out their guns. The sight that Dean was greeted with was rather… weird. Sure enough his daughter was there, weilding a tooth-pick of a knife that seemed to have a faint golden glow, and across from her was a… woman? He wasn't sure how to describe her. Her hair almost seemed to be on fire, and she was pale, baring fangs.

She wore some sort of store uniform top, and a black skirt that showed two different types of legs: one was bronze and the other one was a donkey's leg. Her flaming hair seemed to dart out in all directions and she crouched as she prepared to lunge at Camilla. Honestly he didn't hesitate to put a bullet in the chest of the creature.

"What are you doing?!" Camilla shouted as the donkey legged woman hissed in annoyance and bared her fangs towards Dean. Some really fugly looking vampire. "You're going to get yourselves killed!" She shouted as she took a swipe at the vampiric donkey lady.

Sam quickly raised his gun as well and let a bullet loose that flew by Camilla (who screamed in a different language) and hit the woman in the forehead, right between her eyes. If only Dean could get to his machete… His eyes drifted to Camilla's toothpick again and furrowed his brow.

"Mortals have no business interfering!" She hissed. "This is between me and Cami."

"I've told you, that's such an uncute nickname!" Camilla yelled back, swiping at her again. The creature jumped backwards, away from the knife. As if it would do any actual damage to her at all.

"Well you're not a very cute child now are you?" Mimmi hissed and Camilla gasped at the insult.

"How dare you?" Camilla shouted as she charged forward and Sam shouted out against the action. "I am the cutest of all my sisters!" Camilla huffed as she brought her knife down and barely grazed the Vampiric donkey woman. The creature jumped back at the last minute and Camilla's foot work made her stumble a little.

Dean glanced around for anything that he would be able to use to decapitate the creature before his daughter got herself murdered for fighting something that was beyond her level. The girl barely could shoot a gun and now she was trying to take a vampire in a knife fight? They were going to have a serious talk about this later.

 _If she lets you talk to her again._

Dean shook away his thoughts and did the only thing he could do to keep Camilla safe. He lined the vampire up in his sights and charged. He tackled her down on the ground but it was a struggle to keep her there. She tried to claw at him, and he tried to keep her contained under him and away from Camilla. He honestly had never had to struggle so much like this with a woman, and to be honest it was kind of embarrassing. She got a hand free and nicked his neck with her nails and bared her fangs at the wound. Dean grunted in pain and grabbed her hand in an attempt to keep it away from the money maker, but instead she flipped them over and was now on top. Sam came overhead in view and he saw him bring down a large shard of glass on her neck. Nothing.

"Idiot! Move it!" Camilla shouted as she rushed to them and slammed her knife into the monster's throat. Dean was sure he was going to get splattered in blood but that wasn't what happened. Instead Dean got coated (from the stomach up) in some smelly golden dust. If it wasn't for the fact that it didn't reek of sulfur he would have thought it was a demon. He coughed and quickly got off the ground, since there wasn't anything on top of him now (as it should be) and looked at his daughter. Camilla looked rather annoyed as she brushed dust off of her dress and he wasn't sure what to think of his daughter's violent display.

"Camilla-" Dean started, and was intended to have a long and patient conversation about what happened. Determined not to blow up like he did in the restaurant.

"What kind of neanderthal are you?!" Camilla shouted as she put her hands on her hips and glared at the brothers. His patience was gone.

"Your tone is at about a ten, and I need you at a two." Dean snapped.

"Well your attitude is over here and I need it over there!" She shouted, pointing away from her.

 **Authors Note** **: and that wraps up this chapter, the next one there will be a heart to heart for Dean and Camilla so look forward to that! Onto questions, comments, and then the trivia about Camilla.**

 **Writers Obsession: ah thanks for the writing tip! We will try to work on that. As for the Davidson's they were awful and we are sorry the chapter was so sad. We are glad we kept Dean in character even though he hurt Camilla. As much as we hated hurting her.**

 **WeylandCorp4: we didn't do the christmas special episode to create suspense, because it was merely an extra chapter that we wrote to show more about Camilla. But we are hoping right back into the action.**

 **Ylnadiir: the next chapter will show more of Dean and Camilla's reactions to the issue at hand, and we are glad that you like Camilla. Dean is sort of a rough guy cause on one hand he wants to love and be around his daughter but hearing what she is was a punch in the gut.**

 **Slim A Lou Prime: when do you think he will meet Aphrodite again? Mother is always watching her little doves.**

 **WiseSunny: oh yea! Castiel will make an appearance in Season 4, which will take place once this season wraps up (since this is season 3 technically) so he will be in later chapters.**

 **Chrisloveschoco1ate: thank you! we don't know how we managed it either but we love Camilla's character a lot! She's a lot of fun to play with and I think it is probably because she's an Aphrodite cabin member.**

 **Trivia: Camilla was originally gonna be a daughter of Athena and she was going to be Sam's daughter. However we would have had to choose a much later season and Aphrodite sounded more fun.**

 **Question: J is curious, can you tell who writes which sections (because we are two different people)?**


	8. Chapter 7

**Authors Note: Hey everyone! Thank you for being patient while we get our story updated! We hope you are having a good start to 2019. Here's to another chapter and the next update will be on the 5th of Feb.**

 **\- A & J**

 **Chapter 7**

Alexandria, Virginia

"Here I Go Again"

I glared down my _father_ as we stood face to face in the alleyway and monster dust drifted away in the wind near our feet. I could feel the tears prickling at my eyes and I tried my best not to let it fall. I was not about to keep crying in front of him, and it wasn't like he saw me as a human being anyways. So he didn't get to see anything. Absolutely no signs of weakness, or that was my plan anyways. But after a minute his glare started to win out and so I looked down at my knife and rubbed the blade along my jacket sleeve. There wasn't any blood but I didn't want to leave monster dust all over it. My outfit was ruined anyways…

"Maybe we should talk somewhere else?" Sam suggested, and normally I would have liked listening to Uncle Puppy try and mediate the situation but I didn't _want_ to talk to them. Their opinion was already clear, and I didn't want to hear it.

"Maybe you guys should go." I suggested as I kneeled and placed my knife back into my shoe. "The mist might cover a little of what I did when that monster died, but _you two_ were letting bullets fly." I said and noticed a broken storefront window and an alarm going off. "Not to mention breaking windows. Police will be here soon enough and I am not going back into the system." I said coldly and turned to run down the alley, trying to supress the tears threatening to fall. I got maybe two steps before I felt a tug at the back of my jacket and I stumbled back and almost tripped. The anger hit me hard at that. My outfit may have been ruined but that was a _nice_ jacket, and more than that why couldn't they just let me walk away?

"What is it with you?!" I shouted. "Just let go!" I yelled while trying to get my jacket free from his vice grip.

"No way Princess," My _father_ started.

"My name is Camilla." I spat, and honestly was a little pleased to see the sad look in his eyes. "Not Cammi, not Cam, and not _Princess_." I stated flatly.

"Camilla," Dean took a breath and let go of my jacket. Which I straightened out because _he_ made it all crooked. A real fashion fiend. "I know that you're mad. Hell, you have the right to be mad. But this is not the time or place. We need to get to the Impala and get out of here." Dean grabbed my arm and started to usher (man-handle) me to the car (like a neanderthal). I tried to shake him off of me but the man refused to let go and I, in the most lady-like fashion, growled at him and grumbled about the gorilla.

"Come on, stop dragging your feet." Dean huffed in annoyance and I dragged my feet more.

"How about you let go of my arm before I start yelling that I'm being kidnapped by two strange and tall men." I quipped.

"Ha. If you were going to do that you would have done it already." Dean argued and I frowned. "Not to mention if you did make a scene that would be the quickest way to get back with a case manager to go to a new "family"." Dean said matter-of-a-factly and I huffed. I didn't like that he was right or that he didn't seem to care that I would be going to a new _family_. Sam was moving a little quicker but both of them seemed annoyingly relaxed as they reached the impala and Sam opened the back door to the impala and I climbed in. The door closed quickly and in record timing they were both in the car and my _father_ was pulling away from the parking space. I glared out the window and felt my brow furrow when I saw a blonde waitress wink at me from the dinner. She looked a lot like I did and there was a faint pink glow around her, but in a blink she was gone.

 _Was that… It can't be..._

"So your mom..." Dean started and I felt my face fall back into a scowl, hearing him interrupt a small, happy thing. Was that gorilla just hell bent on making my mood worse?

"Was clearly way out of your league, yet here I am." I snarked.

"Can you dial back your damn attitude for five seconds so we can have a conversation?" Dean snapped back at me and I tightened my arms around myself. I also briefly considered the possibilities of if I could get the door open quick enough to tuck and roll when he slowed at a turn. But that would only cause me to mess up my hair and luckily a strand still wasn't out of place… Yet… That and I could break a nail. Also, that would involve being able to outrun these two, and clearly that wasn't and option. I was not a short girl by any means but these two were taller and probably faster.

"You know, I could dial back my tone and smile like a pretty little _Princess_ , but frankly I don't think you deserve that kindness." I all but hissed. "Also, what conversation is there to have anyways? I am a _Pagan Kid_ remember? And my mother is a _monster_ to you people anyways. I'm just that _Pagan_ kid that you never knew you had until three days ago. So why should you care? Not like you wanted me or asked for me in the first place." I could feel my voice shake.

"I never said that I didn't want you." Dean shouted. Almost like he was trying to overpower my statement. I was having none of it.

"You never said that you did either!" I responded just as loudly and Sam winced in the front seat. That bubble was back in my chest. Not that it ever really left, but it was growing again.

"You ran off!" He snapped, his voice raising to a louder tone. Almost reminded me how scary he can be. Almost.

"Because you were going to send me back!" I yelled. "Either to foster care, or maybe a damn grave, or who knows what! Because I'm just a problem child! A half monster that bad things happen to, but only I can take the blame!" I felt the resentment I had felt over the years building, and I couldn't stop it even if I wanted to.

"I didn't say you were a problem child, or that I-" I didn't let Dean finish his sentence. It was my turn.

"You called me a compulsive liar!" My voice cracked and I felt the tears rolling down my face. I caught my dad's eyes in the rearview mirror and I held his eyes for a moment. "You suggested that I participated in some kind of satanic sacrificial rituals and then you walked away! You couldn't wait to get away from me! You think I haven't seen that walk before?!" I snapped.

"Camilla-" Sam tried to intervene, but it was too late. I was too far gone into my own rant.

"I saw it everytime my _parents_ would go "talk". I saw it with everyone! The Freemans took me out to ice cream when they walked away like that. The Kellers walked away while I watched cartoons in the living room. Mrs. Wilson cried as her husband tried to comfort her when they decided that I was too much for them. The Robinsons took me shopping while their eldest son called my case manager." I spat bitterly and didn't mention the Davidsons. I walked away from them, and I tried to never look back. They didn't deserve it. Sam and Dean almost didn't deserve it either after what they pulled. "All I could think of was that you two were leaving, to call my case manager and get me put _back_ in the system. To send me away."

"Camilla we-" Sam started again.

"No! You don't get to talk!" I barked. They haven't had enough. Not yet. "I broke my back trying to find _someone_ that was related to me. I spent _months_ trying to unravel the mystery that was Bert Aframian. _Months_ of tracking, filing, more tracking, hacking, and digging. Lots of digging. It was honestly the happiest day of my life when I found John Winchester's name that day. Then it was an anxious, terrific, roller coaster that I didn't find him, but found my _dad_ and an uncle! Do you realize how happy I was?! You know how many times I debated in my head to decide whether or not to tell you about who I was?! Who my mom was the _first_ time you asked me? Did you think I _wanted_ to just keep lying to the only full blood mortal parent I have?!" I was shouting.

"Kiddo-" Dean tried to interrupt my rant, but I just screamed over him.

"You have _any_ idea how happy I was when you two said you believed in the weird stuff, because that meant that you two wouldn't find what I was going to tell you completely unbelievable?! I was _so_ happy! Then, when I finally feel in my gut that everything was going to be ok; that you two would be ok, I took a risk and told you what I had held back, and it turns out that my suspicions were right. You may have believed me when I said my mom is a Greek Goddess, but then you immediately accuse me of doing terrible things! Awful things like human sacrifice and blood offerings! I spent my whole life being called a brat, or a liar, or just a purely troublesome kid but you two added to the list. You acted like I was some kind of monster! And to top it all off you leave me alone in a diner making me think everything I had thought up to now was a mistake!" Just like that. I almost couldn't catch my breath after screaming my head off like that. The two kept looking forward, and didn't say a word.

"So no..." I felt my breath hitch and the lump forming in my throat made it hard to talk. "You don't get to speak." I forced out from between my clenched teeth.

The silence in the car was suffocating. You could hear a pin drop. I felt like I could feel static in my veins. My ears were ringing, and my head had a hive of bees trying to burst out of my skull. I realized that I couldn't slow down my breathing and that my heart was in my throat, and my stomach was on the floor. I heard muffled voices from the front of the car, but the pressure behind my eyes made my head want to implode, and made me squeeze my eyes shut. I didn't want to listen. I didn't want to hear what they wanted to say. I didn't want to hear anyone ever talk again. My eyes blinked open and drifted towards the front of the car and all I could see was Dean and Sam staring at me with mixed emotions riddling their faces. Deans was part anger and part confusion. Sams was part concern and part panic. I saw their lips move but I couldn't hear anything. Next thing I knew the car was pulled into a lot and Dean was at my door, putting his hands on my shoulders. My head dropped down, as if my neck had stopped supporting the weight of it, and I shut my eyes again. I didn't want to look at him.

"Camilla!" A voice called. It was as if he was a distance away, but I knew he was right in front of me.

The ringing in my ears intensified and all I could do was start scream crying. I had a very carefully built dam in my head, containing all of the negative memories of me in the system, and of camp, and of every time I had wanted to give up and not be here anymore. A dam that had just broke apart and was overloading my senses, it was almost as if I was thrown back into each of those moments. I could barely feel myself being picked up and moved. I kicked my feet, and swung my arms. I wanted to cut and run. I wanted nothing to do with this anymore. I wanted it all to be over!

* * *

When I had finally opened my eyes again, I was out of breath, in a room with Dean sitting with me on the floor, and Sam on the other side of me, both of them holding me down in a way. Sam held one hand and was rubbing my back, Dean was holding my other hand and his hand firmly my head, holding it to his chest. It had felt nice, I wasn't going to lie. I gazed around the room and it was _trashed_. The nightstand was knocked over, a lamp was broken, curtains were pulled closed, but a couple were ripped down from the rods, blankets were ripped off the beds and the pillows were scattered across the room with a trail of feathers following them.

"What did you do in here?" It was all I could think to ask, and Dean looked a little offended.

"This wasn't us Princess." Dean said and Sam nodded. I felt my cheeks flush at what that meant, and tiredly shoved them both off of me. The nice moment vanished and I was both mortified and exhausted.

"Get out." I said, but the venom was practically gone at this point. More of an exasperated whine if I really had to describe it. I wanted to go home, and the only home I was ever going to have was going to be back at camp. I was exhausted. I was so done trying to find all the answers, I was done being sent away, and I was done with the pity I received from people because of my situation. I've had enough charity tossed my way to last a lifetime, and I was sick of it. Sam looked at Dean and he awkwardly cleared his throat.

"I'm going to go… Get pie?" Sam didn't sound so sure when he picked up his wallet and grabbed my dad's keys. "I think you two have some things to discuss, and I think you should have a minute alone to talk about it." Sam said as softly as he could and I sort of just waved it off when I sat on the bed across from the mirror. My hair was still perfectly curled from my enchantment, but there were white feathers sticking out of it and my eyeliner was starting to smear. I sniffed while I grabbed a tissue and dipped it in water to try and remove the magic eyeliner.

"Hey Kiddo," Dean started as he crouched down next to the bed. There was a scratch mark on his cheek and while looking down I noticed my nail was a little red. _Oh_.

"I'm not good at this… touchy feely crap. That's something Sam was always better at, and why the victims always have an easier time talking to that giant Care-Bear." He continued but my mouth didn't even twitch when he made a joke. Too tired.

"I know you're confused, and I know you're hurting. We aren't making that easier and..." Dean ran his hand through his hair, "Dammit, this isn't what I thought it was going to be like. I..." He sighed and stopped, while trying to find the words to talk to me. There was a small spark of curiosity in me but I still felt like I was drowning under waves of pure numbness, and that small glimmer of light was fading.

"I always wanted to have kids, and this wasn't the life that I ever wanted for them." Dean said while looking at me. "I have a daughter, who is a little crazy. She's this really weird and charismatic little girl that clearly has inherited my sass and probably will develop other bad habits from being around me. Not just that she's this little spitfire and honestly the only really good thing that has come out of me being around." Dean reached over and squeezed my knee.

"I was in shock and I was angry, but kiddo, that wasn't at you. I was mad that I unknowingly had a child with a Goddess, and then my kid was dropped off at an orphanage without me knowing. I was mad because you have gone through way too much, and aside from the one time you were dropped off at a hotel room to us; your mother never made other attempts to tell me about you." Dean sighed. "And maybe one day we will get answers about that, but right now you're tired." There was a pause. As if he was gathering his thoughts and choosing his words very carefully. He spoke again after a moment.

"I had to go outside, because I needed to calm down, and I couldn't do that in the diner. Sam knew that and he took me outside to call me a dumbass. I am not going to send you anywhere you don't want to go, and I am not going to drop you off on the side of the road and leave you there. Family doesn't quit Camilla. We're new family, but still family." Dean moved his hand off my knee and stood while leaning against the dresser under the mirror. I turned my gaze up and continued to watch him.

"Give me time to adjust to this whole new-parent thing because I suck at it. But, if you want to go, then tell me where because I'll take you there. But don't you dare think that we don't want you. Or that I want you to go away. If you're leaving then that is your choice, and I am not going to take that decision from you. But if you want to stay, or if you want to come back… You have a family Camilla, and we aren't going to turn you away. I'll give you a phone that has our numbers programmed in it, and if you go and decide you want to come back you call us. If you want to tell us that we are stupid, then you call us. If you are scared-" I cut him off.

"Then I call you." I finished.

"Yea, you call me." He looked a little pained, like there was something else weighing on him. I pushed myself off of the bed and just sort of fell against him in a lazy hug. I didn't have the energy to give him much of a response, so I responded simply.

"Okay."

 **Authors Note : we hope you enjoyed this chapter and it was sort of a mending point for Camilla and Dean. Obviously not everything is gonna be perfect between them but this is a start for their relationship to heal and build.**

 **Slim A Lou Prime: haha your comment made us laugh. I get the feeling Aphrodite would lecture him quite a bit. Probably offended by his disregard for what she does.**

 **WeylandCorp4: yea that was because we intended for the primary conversation to be held in this chapter. It just seemed like it needed to have its own space to breathe. Next chapter we will be returning to some hunts and more family bonding.**

 **AACM25: good question, and there isn't a lot of hints as to what is going on with camp right now while we are focusing on Camilla getting to know her dad and uncle. This is in 2008, so we placed it a year before the Titan War somewhere in the very beginning of Battle of the Labyrinth or on the tail ends of the Titan's Curse.**

 **Guest Star: we are glad that you are loving Camilla so far! A child of Aphrodite has been a lot of fun to play with in terms of personality and abilities. Just wait, because we haven't even pulled out her full attitude in full force yet (although Dean might disagree).**

 **Question: what do you think (in terms of Supernatural) Camilla likes fighting the least?**

 **Trivia: Camilla actually really enjoys games, and because of that she carries a deck of standard playing cards and as well as deck for Uno in her bag.**


	9. Chapter 8

**Authors Note: hey everyone! We hope you will like this chapter as things start to pick back up in season 3 of supernatural. You will recognize quite a bit of dialog from the show in this, and that's primarily for the case and some development on Camilla's part. Also heads up we will try to post on time for our next update 02/19, however we will be on vacation around that time so it may be late or even early. We honestly don't know. Regardless we hope you enjoy this chapter! Any responses to comments and reviews will be at the end of the chapter.**

 **\- A & J**

 **Chapter Eight**

Savannah, Georgia

"Red Sky at Morning"

I woke up with a splitting headache, with the usual sound of the Impala's engine, and muffled voices. Gods I still have no idea how they can do this for literal days. My eyes opened to darkness. It was dark outside and Sam and Dean were talking. I couldn't help but want to listen in to what the grown-ups are talking about.

"So, what- What does that mean I'm out of my deal?" Dean stammered. He sounded angry, or maybe annoyed, but also… almost scared. I couldn't place it entirely. I've only known the man for about a week, and even my ability to distinguish emotion couldn't be entirely relied on. All I know is that this isn't a fun conversation for either of them.

"Don't you think I might have mentioned that little fact, Dean?" Sam retorted, sounding annoyed. "No. Someone else holds the contract." He sighed. Contract? What contract?

"Who?" Dean asked, the aggravation in his voice wasn't lessing in the slightest. I tried to breathe slowly, and not to mention quietly. It was the best way I knew to try to fake sleep because I didn't want them to stop talking.

"She wouldn't say." Sam sounded disappointed. Almost like he failed at something. Probably talking to whoever this "she" is.

"Well, we should find out who." Dean stated. Sam gave a sound of agreement. "Of course, our best lead would be the Crossroads Demon... Oh, wait a minute." I couldn't help but feel my chest tighten a little. What in world was a "crossroads demon"? It sounded like something from a cheesey, old, horror movie.

"That's not funny."

"No, it's not! It was a stupid freaking risk and you shouldn't have done it." Dean snapped.

"I shouldn't have done it? You're my brother. No matter what you do, I'm gonna try and save you. And I'm sure as hell not gonna apologize for it, all right?" Sam raised his voice, and it almost made me flinch. Forgot how scary he can be at times too. My heart was beating rapidly and I tried to calm myself down. What scared me the most wasn't how Sam or my dad raised their voices, no, it was that he was trying to save Dean. I just didn't know what he was trying to save him from, and for some reason it made me feel cold. Like I was tossed into a freezer.

"Will you quiet down dammit? The kid's asleep. She doesn't need to hear all this." Dean quietly snapped back. My chest only tightened more. Crossroads demon? Contract? And they didn't want me to hear about it… What was going on?

"Coming from the one who was yelling earlier." Sam snapped back.

"Shut up already." Dean ordered. Sam heaved a sigh and I could hear him readjust in his seat. Silence fell in the car again. The only sounds being the hum of the engine, and the tires on the road. I felt a yawn come at me too late for me to stop, and flushed when they realized I was awake.

"Hey Princess. Sleeping ok back there?" My dad asked, pretending as if the previous conversation he was having never existed. If I didn't already hear it I would have never thought there was. One thing I just learned about Daddy-Dearest was that he's- annoyingly enough- a very good liar. I couldn't help but feel weary about that. What else could be lying to me about?

"Yea, if you think sleeping on a stiff seat that is going to mess up my back is okay." I pouted a little, but then quickly added "It was good enough I guess." Before he could get offended about his _precious_ baby. I yawned again and sat up in the back seat. "How long until we get there?" I asked looking out the car window.

"Another few hours." Sam replied. His voice sounded more calm, and like it usually does. Good Puppy. Lying Puppy. I was starting to wonder if I would be able to tell the difference one day. "It shouldn't be too long, considering Dean is going thirty over the speed limit." He tilted his head towards my dad, who on inspection, was indeed going up and beyond the speed limit.

"Shut up. There isn't any cop out this late. But Sammy's right Camilla, get some rest. We'll be there in…" His words trailed off as he tilted his head to look at a passing sign on the road, and looking at the current time. "In about three hours." I met his eyes in the rearview mirror and nodded, gave another yawn, and rested my head back down on a makeshift pillow made out of a few older sweaters I had with me.

As much as I didn't want to fall asleep, in hopes of catching them in another deep conversation about this "crossroads demon" to get more information, my eyes felt heavy and I dozed off into another deep sleep.

When I awoke again, I was tucked in a motel bed, with my Dad and Uncle in the other two. One of them must have carried me in from the car. I stretched out my back and got out of the covers and quickly ducked into the shower. Honestly, I felt gross. Staying in the car for so many hours made me feel cramped and dirty. I should bring up that maybe we get the inside of that car cleaned. Deep cleaned. I mean my Dad can't argue about that too much right? Since Baby was his pride and joy and she needed to be cleaned. I grimaced. Did I just call her "Baby" like she was a living thing? I spend too much time cramped up in that car with them.

I tried to quickly shower, but after all the scrubbing, and the hair care, and the face scrub, I'm not proud to say it probably took somewhere around forty minutes. I whispered a quick apology to the Gods, because while it may have been wasteful for the planet- it really had to be done. Thank Gods I had the foresight to pack my own shampoo, because the ones provided were trash. The amount of _paraffins_ and the _chemical carnival_ that was in those things was absolutely atrocious. May as well been dumping floor wax on my head. I had to teach these boys that the difference between a _motel_ and a _hotel_ made a world of difference in the eyes of beauty, skin care, and comfort.

The sun was fully out when I came out of the steamy bathroom and my Uncle was typing away at his computer but my Dad was nowhere to be seen. He glanced up when I came out wearing my very cute and very in season leggings, black skirt, and pink top.

"Dean is going to have a fit if you used up all the hot water." The Good Puppy warned, but I didn't take it too seriously. After all his mouth was tipping up in the corner into a bit of a lopsided smile.

"It was necessary." I stated while walking to my duffel bag and shuffling around for my makeup pouch. "It would ruin my adorable like appearance if I walked around with greasy hair and pimples." I heard him snort slightly. "I'm serious. Pimples are the number one enemy of all teenagers. They're little face demons."

"You're twelve." He stated.

"I'm a preteen." I corrected but he merely shook his head. He opened his mouth to say something as I gathered my makeup on the dresser and took to applying foundation, but the words died on his lips when my dad walked in carrying what appeared to be some sort of fast food bag. If I wasn't careful I was going to get fat from all of the junk he was throwing at me. Hasn't he heard of a balanced diet?

"Aren't you too young to be using makeup?" My Dad asked eyeing my foundation with a bit of distaste. I huffed.

"No one is too young to actively care about their appearance." I huffed and looked at him. "And really? Two plaid shirts at once?" He raised his eyebrow at my question and shook his head mumbling something about women.

"Did you at least leave some hot water in there Princess?" Dean asked setting down the bag of grease on the table.

"It's not cold." I simply stated and he groaned.

"You're on ten minute showers now. Any longer and I'll come in there and turn it off." He threatened. While I would _love_ to call his bluff, there was a small part of my brain that reminded me that he wasn't afraid to show me he was serious. So instead I merely wrinkled my nose at him and huffed in annoyance.

"I'm sorry, but I needed that shower." I argued.

"So do we. We have to meet with the victim's family today." He countered.

"Victim's family?" I asked.

"Yeah, there was an odd drowning in a shower." Sam informed me. "But it's not the first one that's ever happened. I traced back odd drownings like that as far as I could, and a string of these seemingly impossible drownings happen every 37 years. Like clockwork." Ok. I knew Sam was sharp, and could do some _serious_ research, but I didn't think he was _this_ good. Annabeth would like him.

"Oh. So we're going to go see the family?" I asked and Dean shook his head while he ate a burger he pulled out of the bag. I grimaced. It was still early and he was eating _that_.

"No way Princess. Sam and I are going to go talk to the aunt, and you are going to stay with the car." He said. I narrowed my eyes.

"Stay with the car? What kind of job is that?" I crossed my arms. "What's next? I'll get to man the flash light while you dig up a grave or walk into a basement? No way. I want to come." I argued but neither one of them seemed like they were going to budge.

"We are going to talk to her as officers, and there is no reason that a kid would be there." Dean said.

"Well there could be. I mean haven't you heard of a Junior officer? Maybe I am part of some type of camp or after school activity that involves shadowing law enforcement." I argued, and it was a good argument too- if I do say so myself.

"I believe the term you're looking for is a Ride Along, and you're too young. You're twelve and you have to be eighteen to do those without your parent's permission." Puppy stated.

"But _you're_ my parents-" I started.

"No." Dean interrupted. "I am your parent and Sam is your uncle. _We_ are not your parents." I rolled my eyes. "We aren't a couple we are brothers." He was a little too defensive in my opinion. Maybe a little insecure.

"I know that. Duh." I crossed my armed and stared down both of them. They're lucky my charmspeak doesn't work on either of them, or this would be going _my way_. "Come on! I won't say anything. I don't want to be stuck in the car." I whined.

"Fine, then I'll drop you off at a diner and we'll meet at the car." Dean offered.

"But you said you wanted to teach me about all of this. About hunting and whatnot. How will I learn if I'm not there?" I whined some more for good measure.

"That's what the book's for." He smirked. Gods I wanted to punch him in face.

" _Please!_ " I put on my best puppy eyes. "I won't get in the way I promise! I can be really persuasive too, well, you know when it's not you and Uncle Puppy for some reason."

"Uncle Puppy?" Sam sounded confused. We chose to ignore him.

"Sweetheart, I grew up with _this_ for a brother." He gestured towards Sam. "You're gonna have to try _a lot_ harder than that. My decisions final. You're sitting at the diner, while me and him are gonna talk to Mrs. Case. Done."

"Fine. I'll just go twiddle my thumbs at the diner after being dumped off just like everyone else always did." Guilt trip. My _last_ card. If this doesn't work, then I dunno what will.

"Fine then." Dean said and rummaged around in the bag he came back with and handed me the _greasiest_ burger on the planet. It was practically soaking the paper it was wrapped in. "Eat this then." He dared.

"If I eat that… _Thing_ then I can go?" I asked.

"The _whole_ thing." He added. I grimaced and took the burger from him.

"Mother give me strength." I muttered and started to eat it. I took a bite and wanted to immediately spit it back out. It was mushy from all the grease, it was beef on bacon with more beef on more bacon. But I had to be strong if I was going to go with them to Ms. Case. I swallowed the first bite and it sent shivers down my spine.

"That good?" Dad asked and I frowned, but kept myself from retorting. Looking at the thing now it was enormous. I took a second bite and somehow it was worse than the last. I could feel my pores clogging from the amount of grease near my face. After maybe a hundred years I was able to eat all of the grease dripping heart attack.

"Was that so bad?" My dad asked, and my uncle used the time I was eating to take a shower. Good for him and may he use up all of the hot water.

"Yes." I quipped. They took their time getting dressed and after seeing the suits they got from the trunk I decided to change my outfit too. I changed my leggings to tights and wore a pastel pink dress that was loose and fitted it to my waist with a belt. After that I put on some flats. When I looked at my Uncle and my Dad I was actually, really impressed. The suits looked nice on them and they oozed confidence. Maybe that was why my mom had liked him.

"You two look nice. It's a good change from all the plaid." I commented while jumping on the bed to reach my dad's height easier while I adjusted his crooked tie.

"I feel like a monkey." Dean complained.

"Well you're a nice dressed Monkey." I nodded to myself and grinned. "Let's go!" I hopped off the bed and walked out to the car with them so we could get going on the case. Today was the _first_ day I get to work with my family and I was pumped!

The old woman was dressed well. Her hair was styled nearly into a bun and she practically _oozed_ elegance from where she was sitting. I admired her earrings and the necklace around her neck, because she just seemed to have a timeless fashion sense. Something I could get behind easily.

"But I don't understand. I already went over all this with the other Detectives." The old woman complained.

"Right, yes. But, see, we're with the Sheriff's Department, not the police department – different departments." My dad poorly explained.

"But… Why is there a child with you?" She asked as she eyed me. I smiled at her in return and felt myself ease into my role rather quickly. Being charming was second nature.

"I'm writing a paper on the importance of Police investigations and the effect it has on families ma'am." I added the ma'am for good measure. I smiled sweetly at her while planning my way for winning her over. "By the way, I love how you styled your hair, you look so graceful." Sam cleared his throat after my compliment, and tried to get back on task.

"So, Mrs. Case-" Uncle Puppy started.

"Please. _Ms._ Case." She corrected him and I had to stop myself from giggling when she looked him up and down.

"Okay. Um, _Ms_. Case." Sam shifted uncomfortably. "You were the one who found your niece, correct?"

"I came home, she was in the shower." Ms. Case said sadly.

"Drowned?" Dad asked.

"So the coroner says. Now, you tell me, how can someone drown in the shower?" She asked. She seemed upset, like she was lied to. I know the feeling.

"How would you describe Sheila's behavior in the days before her death? I mean, did she seem frightened? Maybe she said something out of the ordinary?" Dad asked, and I resisted rolling my eyes. Really subtle there buddy.

"Wait a minute. You're working with Alex, aren't you?" Ms. Case's eyes widened a little as she come to that conclusion. My dad and uncle didn't miss a beat before agreeing to the claim. Even though they didn't know who this Alex was. What if she called to verify?

"Yep. Absolutely. That's-" Dad cut himself off and laughed a little. "Alex and us, we're like this." He crosses his fingers, pulling stuff out of thin air.

"Why didn't you say so? Alex has been such a comfort. But I'm sorry. I thought the case was solved." Ms. Case said and I almost laughed. My dad really was a very good liar.

"Well, no. No, not yet." Sam said with a hint of sadness.

"I see." Ms. Case sighed.

"So, anyways, we were talking about your niece." The Puppy once again tried to move us all back on track.

"Well, yes. Sheila mentioned something quite strange before she died. She said she saw a boat."

"A boat?" Dean clarified.

"Yes. One minute it was there, then it was gone. It just disappeared right before her eyes. You think it could be a ghost ship?" She paused, looking very intensely at Uncle Puppy, and he shifted again. "Alex thinks it could be a ghost ship." Sam struggled with what to say to that. I wasn't sure if it was because he didn't want to sound crazy or because he didn't want to give into Ms. Case's grieving.

"Uh, could be." Sam finally said.

"You let me know if there's anything else I can do for you." At that, she traces a finger slowly along Sam's hand, and I wanted to barf, I'm sure as much as my uncle did. "Anything at all." After that we all got out of there as quickly as possible, but it didn't stop my dad from cracking jokes about my uncle's new "girlfriend".

We walked along the docks and I stretched my arms above my head and for once was looking forward to getting in the car so we could drive back to the motel-since _someone_ doesn't do hotels… I followed them until they stopped dead in their tracks staring at an empty space in front of a meter. I frowned a little. Was this where we were parked? Or maybe we got a little turned around? I mean we did walk a bit far and the port was rather big so it wouldn't be impossible.

"Sam, where's my car?!" Dad exclaimed. "Someone stole my car?!"

"Dean, calm down!" Sam tried consoling my dad. I wasn't sure what to do, or say for that matter.

"I am calmed down! Someone stole my ca-" I looked over at Dad and saw he started hyperventilating. I felt my eyes bulge out of my head and I _really_ didn't know what to do. I didn't think Dean had the capacity to _have_ anxiety.

"Whoa. Dean. Hey, hey, hey. Take it easy." Sam hurriedly rushed to my dads side, trying to get him to calm down. I cautiously walked over, to try and console him, and was thinking about how I could help.

"Maybe I can ask a bystander if they saw anything? And they can point us in the right direction?" I offered, and my delivery was a little weak… My dad whipped his head around in my direction but before he could say something-which probably would have been mean-a voice chimed from the street.

"The '67 Impala? Was that yours?" A females British voice rang. I turned my head and saw a _quite_ visually pleasing woman saunter over with an ever-so-slight smirk on her face. I heard Sam mutter with quite disdain.

"Bela." It was very clear they had met her before, and it was also very clear that they didn't like her. At all. Which means that according to the rules of siding with my family I can't like her either. Besides… She has… split ends.

"I'm sorry. I had that car towed." My eyes widened a little and my father's face was turning a little red. She had some nerve.

"You what?!" Dean yelled.

"Well it was in a tow-away zone." The British woman sounded smug when she said that. I didn't know much about driving but I don't think my dad would have parked illegally-well… He does speed and break other laws so then again...

"No it wasn't!" Dean shouted.

"It was when I was done with it." The smugness was still present in her voice and I felt my hands ball up into fists. I wasn't that overly fond of driving around and living out of a car… But my dad loved that thing and she was… a pretty woman but seemed… awful? "And since when you two have brats with you?" She asked, turning her hardened gaze towards me. "Running a daycare now boys?"

"Don't look at her." Dean snapped, and he moved a little bit so that he was partially blocking me. However, that _box dyed brunette_ doesn't get to call me a brat.

"Who are you calling a brat?" I spat out at her.

"Oh my," Bela smiled. "How cute she has a little bit of bite. Move aside little girl, the grown ups have to have a talk."

"You mean the grown ups and Barbie's twice removed ugly cousin?" I was _not_ having it.

"Bela, what are you doing here?" Dean snapped, and by his tone he was still clearly not happy about the car situation.

 _I promise I'll make her pay Dad. Literally._

"A little yachting."

"You're Alex. You're working with that old lady." Sam stated.

"Gert's a dear old friend." Bela said but honestly I wasn't buying it. This woman didn't seem like she had friends.

"Yeah, right. What's your angle?" My dad asked, so clearly he wasn't buying it either.

"There's no angle. There's a lot of lovely old women like Gert up and down the eastern seaboard. I sell them charms, perform séances so they can commune with their dead cats." Bela said and I rolled my eyes at her response.

"And they just buy it? You don't even look like Jennifer Love Hewitt." I grumbled under my breath but the _adults_ all ignored me.

"And let me guess, it's all a con." Dean sounded fed up.

"The comfort I provide them is very real." Bela said, but the way she said it made my skin crawl. She was taking advantage of all these people… How awful. I mean sometimes I asked people for assistance but I didn't con them… I mean… Technically they offered to give me the things I wanted… But I may have influenced them a bit...

"How do you sleep at night?" Sam asked, sounding disgusted.

"On silk sheets, rolling naked in money." She immediately responded with another smirk. "Really, Sam. I'd expect the attitude from him, but you?" She continued looking at my uncle and I gagged.

"You shot me!" Sam snapped.

"You did what to my uncle?!" I shouted and tried to march over to her, however my dad quickly grabbed hold of my arm and pulled me back to his side.

"I barely grazed you." She snapped back, then shifted her gaze towards my dad. "Cute. But a bit of a drama queen, yeah? Run along little girl. Adults still talking." My patience was slowly wearing thin.

"No. My dad and my uncle are talking to Ursula the sea witch." I grumbled.

"Camilla. We don't want you talking to her." Sam said to me, then shifted his gaze to Bela.

"You do know what's going on around here. This ghost-ship thing, it is real." He was trying to get her to understand the severity of the situation, and it sort of clicked that this woman might be some sort of hunter like they are.

"I'm aware. Thanks for telling Gert the case wasn't solved, by the way." She retorted, seeming annoyed.

"It isn't." Dean stated as-a-matter-of-factly.

"She didn't know that." She hardened. "Now the old bag's stopped payment and she's demanding some real answers. Look... just stay out of my way before you cause any more trouble. I'd get to that car if I were you... before they find the arsenal in the trunk. Ciao." I glared at her as she started to walk away and immediately ripped my arm away from dad and stepped forward.

"Don't you dare take another step!" I shouted. I could feel my charmspeak layering on top of my words. Normally I didn't notice it as much, but this time was different. "You know what you should do?" I tilted my head in a super innocent way while looking at the she-devil right in the eyes. "You should pay for the ticket to my dad, and maybe add another couple hundred bucks for the inconvenience. _Just_ for kicks and giggles. Then walk away." She smiled back, and dug in her pockets and handed me about five hundred dollars and walked off, not saying a word. I sighed and felt like all my energy just drained from me. I felt weak and tired, but there was still so much walking to do! That took a lot out of me, and it was way more than I would have liked..

"What the hell was that?!" Dean shouted. He's had a lot of things happen in the past twenty minutes.

"That was daddy's little princess getting the ticket _she_ caused to be paid for. That and money for the hotel tonight, because we are not doing a motel again." I examined their faces and I had the sinking feeling that I had to do a lot of explaining once we actually got back in the car.

 _Great._

 **Author's Note:** **next time there will probably be a long conversation about charmspeak. So look forward to that and the rest of the case for the episode.**

 **Angelic Lady: we are also very excited for when those things happen. He's starting to see how _charming_ Camilla can be when she wants to be.**

 **Slim A Lou Prime: we will get into more action parts although Camilla will probably never really use guns, other than on rare circumstances, because guns tend to jam when Demi-Gods use them.**

 **WeylandCorp4: honestly the placement for the Percy Jackson series is more of a transitioning point between Titans Curse and Battle of the Labyrinth. This is also season 3 of Supernatural. J and I are working out how those events will effect everyone and we are carefully considering all options, so all we can say is "no spoilers".**

 **MangoCheese: no offense taken, and we know they can't (due to monsters) but it was more of a moment where Dean was talking to Camilla. Mostly because he's new to this Demi-God stuff and so he doesn't really know that yet. Trust us, it will be brought to his attention later.**

 **Trivia:** Camilla once broke the heart of a fellow camper to keep with tradition in Aphrodite's cabin. He was an Apollo kid and she spoke in rhymes for two weeks.

 **Q:** How do you think Dean will feel when Camilla starts showing more of an interest in boys?


	10. Chapter 9

**Author's Note: Hey guys! Hope you are still liking the story! A and I are still on vacation, and loving it, hope you guys are doing well too! As usual, hope you guys enjoy the chapter, and if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, feel free to contact us or leave a review. Or both! Enjoy!**

 **\- A & J**

 **Chapter Nine**

"Red Sky at Morning Part Two"

"What the hell was that?!" Dad repeated once we got into the car. I rolled my eyes at the tone of his voice while I made myself comfortable in the backseat. Honestly he makes it sound as if I did something unspeakable; like murder a muggle a something.

"What was what?" I asked, playing dumb. I forgot that they weren't used to these type of things, well, not used to these things happening with their daughter/niece. My charmspeaking ability was something that I just sort of got used to after a while, and when I was taught how to make better use of it, the charm came to me naturally. I stifled a yawn that was trying to burst out of me from the wave of drowsiness that hit me after charmspeaking Bela. They probably would have taken it as a form of disrespect and get even angrier. That thought was even more exhausting to me. Are we going to fight every other day? I slightly frowned at the idea of it.

"You know damn well what I am talking about!" Dad snapped, while he put the car in drive and pulled out of the towing yard. "So don't play stupid with me."

"Well…" I started. I suddenly didn't know how to really explain it. Charmspeak was a gift, and it wasn't like I had to learn how to do it necessarily. I mean… I always knew how to do it, or at least it always happened. It was just… I learned how to put more intention behind it.

"Dean. Calm down." Sam added. Good Puppy. I saw Dean visibly relax, and calm down as we drove. Note to self: Car rides are good talk time. Good to know. Sam turned in his chair and looked at me with a furrowed bow and he looked... Almost sympathetic. "What did you do back there?" Uncle puppy asked a little ( _way more_ ) gently.

"I um..." I stumbled. "I don't know exactly how to explain it, so I guess I'll try my best to describe it?" It sounded like more of a question than an answer, but regardless my dad ever so slightly nodded and Sam tried to look encouraging. Although it looked more like a concerned grimace to me.

"I was… always really persuasive as a kid," I started, and for once they didn't interrupt me. "For as long as I could remember people tended to do or give me things simply because I asked. And it was weird because most of the time they wouldn't really remember why they decided to do it, and as I got older it got me into trouble with foster families. I would say that I liked or wanted something-let's say for instance a necklace my foster mom had-and then she would smile and hand it over. Then accuse me for stealing it once my persuasion wore off." I continued.

"So what? You're really good at Jedi mind tricks?" Dean asked while glancing at me in the rearview mirror.

"What's a Jedi?" I asked, once again playing dumb. I just wanted to see his reaction.

"What is a-" He sat in silence. "You are in for a long ride kid." Aww. Not the reaction I was hoping for.

"Dean." Sam got his attention. "Not really the time." He emphasized and I rolled my eyes.

"Calm down Windu." I quipped. "Let me finish explaining." I saw him relax a little again.

"Okay where was I?" I questioned. "Oh yea," I gathered my thoughts. "Demi-Gods inherit gifts from their God parents. Uhh, Annabeth, a daughter of Athena, has amazing battle strategy and has a large interest and gift in architecture. All of the Aphrodite cabin can magically enchant hair and skin to make it magically styled. The son of Poseidon can control water. Everyone has what is known as ADHD, but according to our trainers, it's our natural battle instinct. My charmspeak is a gift from my mom, and it's not the most common either. Only a few of her children actually get this gift, and as I said before it allows me to be very persuasive."

"So at any point you could look at us and tell us to do something and we would just do it? No matter how stupid or weird it would be?" Dean asked, well, more like he demanded.

"No." I rolled my eyes and folded my arms across my chest. "Although I did try when we first met-" I tried to explain.

"You _tried_ to charm us?!" Dean snapped.

"Will you cool it?!" I snapped back. "I said that I _tried_ and if you let me finish I was going to say that it _didn't work_." I glared.

"It didn't work on us?" Sam sounded just as confused as I felt about it. "Why?" He questioned.

"I have no idea. It has always somewhat worked on everyone. Some people are harder to get through than others when it comes to their… mental defenses? But usually with enough energy I can bend almost anyone's thoughts. Just not you two. No matter how hard I try it's like you two don't even get nudged by me." I looked at Uncle Puppy.

"Why do you suppose that is?" He asked. I merely shrugged in response.

"I couldn't tell ya even if I tried. I have no clue." I admitted.

"Well, ok, so what else can you do?" Dean proded.

"Nothing much outside of that. I can magically style my hair and magically do my make-up, and aside from those things, I have a sensor for emotions. More so for ones that involve love or attraction-like I know _Ms_. Case has a thing for Puppy over here." I said.

"Anyone could tell you she wanted to be Sammy's new girlfriend." My dad teased with a smirk.

"Dude. Shut up."

"Well it's more than just being able to sense it, and in a small way I can manipulate it." I shrugged. "It's not much on the idea of it being permanent but I can sometimes push a feeling of love towards people, although it doesn't have to be romantic. It can be a family type of love too, sort of like how siblings love one another or the love a parent has for a kid." I explained the best I could.

"Yea you aren't allowed to use that last one." Dad said, "messing with people's minds is one thing but making someone feel love if they don't actually love someone is cruel." He met my eyes as he said that. "And I won't tolerate it. That charmspeak thing… On occasion. Like Vegas." He smirked.

"I'm not cupid you know." I rolled my eyes. "I don't particularly like messing with people's emotions on love. Not since Carter." I grimaced when I thought of the Apollo camper. I never wanted to rhyme again. "As for the Vegas thing, it's not like the people I do that to don't remember it happening. I'd get caught in a big place like that, and I'd rather not. That British Bimbo remembers quite clearly what I did, and what she did after I asked. She just doesn't remember why she handed us five hundred dollars." I explained.

"Serves her right." Dean grumbled. "I should have shot her."

"Not in public." Sam looked like it hurt him to say it.

"I can curse her with clown makeup." I offered and Sam frowned and shivered. "I know. I can't imagine her being uglier." I lied.

"That's not it. Your uncle has a thing against clowns." Dean explained. It was like he _liked_ stirring the pot. Poor Uncle Puppy.

"Hey that's okay Puppy," I said as he mumbled _I'm not a dog_. "Clowns are super weird anyways." I smiled.

"Oh not you too. Two people afraid of clowns?" Dad groaned.

"I'm not afraid of clowns, or anything for that matter. I simply understand how they aren't that appealing. I mean… Red? Way too much of it and the paint is thick and clogs all sorts of pores. It's not an attractive look, although it's not as bad as the _shoes of shame_."

"Shoes of shame?" Dad asked.

"You do _not_ want to know." I patted the back of his chair.

"Well, anyway, we need to find a place to stay." He said changing the topic. I smirked.

"We have five hundred dollars, lets go to a hotel. A _nice_ one. Please?" I begged.

"You know there are other alternatives right? Sammy, you find one?" When I looked at Sam, I didn't even notice that his computer was already out and in his lap.

"Yea, turn a left right here." He instructed. I sat there with multiple layers of confusion. That confusion turned to horror when he pulled up to a run down looking house. The white paint was chipping off and the windows were boarded shut.

"Oh you _cannot_ be serious!" I pouted as they unloaded their bags and made me follow them as they picked the lock and walked inside. "You are serious..." I pouted and followed them inside. We spent the night there and in the morning Dad and Uncle Puppy were loading me in the car bright and early to go to another crime scene.

"This time you have to stay in the car." Dad ordered and I rolled my eyes. "I am serious. This is official business and you don't have the right to go through the yellow tape."

"You're doing it." I pouted.

"Princess, we are grown men, and we've done this more times than you can count. Stay. Here." He gave me a look of warning, and I waved him off and slouched a little in the car. I watched them walk away, and as my eyes followed them, they landed on Bela.

 _Ugh. Why is she here…_

After a few moments, she seemed to huff and stomp off. I smiled and relaxed a little. Suddenly her eyes met mine through the window and she gave me a stern glare. She hastened over to me and leaned against the Impala door.

"Hello Brat." She greeted me. _Such_ a charmer.

"Hi Split Ends." I replied. She raised an eyebrow at me and all I could do is smile. Two can play this insult game sweetie, and I can go _hours_ about her super out-of-season french manicure. Ever hear of _color_ lady?

"You want to explain to me what the _hell_ you did to me yesterday?" She asked, continuing her glare. "And what Dean's sudden interest in you is about? He's not exactly a family man."

"Keep glaring sweetie, you're forehead wrinkle could use more friends." I sweetly smiled. "As for why I'm hanging around them, try 1-800-nonya-business." I added. Bela rolled her eyes and stopped leaning against the car as she walked down to some police officers. I watched her as she started pointing at my dad and uncle and they seemed to notice too because they were back in the car and driving down the block a bit.

"Sammy and I need to check the trunk, wait here and we'll get you fed after." Dad said as he climbed out and I groaned.

"I can't even climb out of the car?" I pouted but he only responded by closing the door. "Rude." I sighed and laid on the back seat. Really starting to feel like I _live_ out of this thing. After a few minutes of laying in the hot car I heard my dad's muffled voice raise and saw him about to open the car door before looking across the roof of the car and walking back to trunk of the car. I sat up and looked out the back window and saw them talking to Split Ends. I leaned forward and cracked the window open only catching a bit of the conversation.

"You do this out of vengeance and obsession." Bela huffed and sounded almost humored. "You're a stone's throw from being a serial killer." There was a slight pause. Did she just call my Dad a serial killer? Please! "Whereas I, on the other hand, get paid to do a job and I do it. So, you tell me – which is healthier?" She asked and I narrowed my eyes.

"Bela, why don't you just leave? We've got work to do." Sam sounded tired with the conversation and I was fuming.

"Yeah. You're 0 for 2. Bang-up job so far." She said and I threw open the door, not even caring that I was going to get scolded about it later.

"At least they are doing something unlike you!" I snapped and climbed out of the car. "My dad and uncle are _heroes_! They help people and you are selfish. If there is no material reward in it for you, like let's say money, you turn tail and run away!" I walked closer. "Don't criticize what they are doing when you aren't lifting a _finger_ to help these people stay alive! You're no better than the thing killing them! So _let me tell you_ , when they go to the underworld after their life is over they will go to Elysium, but you... You will go to the Fields of Punishment, and not even you can bribe your way out!" I had to try and calm down after that. That bubble was back, and as much as I wanna claw her eyes out, I'm better than that. Bela scoffed and walked away.

"You really think we'll go to Elysium?" Sam asked, and he motioned me back over to the car.

"I do." I confirmed. "Elysium is for those who did good in their lives. It is where heroes and mortals go to be reborn, and that's where you will go." I walked over to my dad and hugged him. Odd. He seemed stiff, and rigid. I looked up at him and he almost seemed pained. Well that was awkward for our first actual hug. The ground can swallow me now. I gave him a small smile and went into the car. The two of them stayed outside for a moment, then climbed in as well.

The drive back to the abandoned house was quiet. Not a super-awkward kind of tense quiet… just… quiet. I wasn't sure what to say or if I should say anything at all. I was still kind of muling over the awkward hug with my dad and the fact that Split Ends called my family serial killers. How she could compare them to that I just didn't understand. My dad and uncle helped people, and they probably unintentionally saved a lot of Demi-Gods when they killed the monsters that hunted them. Even if she didn't have a lot of hope that the people who were being targeted were savable, it didn't mean that she had to assume that abandoning them was the best course of action. When my dad's car rolled to a stop, I hopped out and immediately went to stretching out my legs. I was going to stunt my growth by sitting in the backseat of that car twenty-four-seven.

"Come on," Uncle puppy said as he ushered me inside. "We have to get you settled before we prepare for the hunt tonight." I frowned a little at his choice of words.

"Prepare for the hunt?" I looked at the two of them while my dad sat at the table and started messing with his shotgun.

"Yeah. We got to stake out the house tonight because the brother is next on the ghost's list. He saw the ship too and we are going to stop him from becoming fish food." Dad started. I watched him separate bullets into salt rounds. "Fortunately, Princess, you're going to be in charge of holding down the fort while we are gone." Dad said and it took me a second to register what he meant.

"What?" My voice kicked up an octave and I prepared to argue. "There is no way that I-" However dad made sure it never even got that far.

"Not negotiable." His tone was stern and he set down the shotgun and stared at me. "This stuff is dangerous Camilla. Ghosts are tricky and we don't even know how to get rid of it yet. We are trying to do as much damage control as possible. We can't do that if you're there." He said.

"But-" I still tried.

"No." There was a finality in my dad's voice, and I felt my jaw shut for a second. "We can't focus on keeping him alive if I have to worry about babysitting my kid. You. Are. Not. Coming." Dean stared at me, almost as if he was challenging me to try and talk back. I felt my face heat up and I wasn't sure if it was because I was embarrassed, or maybe just upset.

"You won't have to babysit me. I am a big girl-"

"You are a child." Dad interrupted.

"-and I do not need to be watched over! I can fight. I was trained to fight." I argued.

"It is not up for negotiation." He repeated. "I can't focus on doing my job if I am worried that my kid is going to get injured, or worse, killed by a spirit. This is not an argument. You will not be going with us and that is final." He said and I huffed as I spun on my heel and ran up the rigidity stairs.

"This is so unfair!" I shouted back down at the two of them and went into one of the rundown looking rooms in the house and slammed the door closed. It groaned in protest and it looked like the hinges were starting to come a little loose. I tugged at my hair and sat down with my back against the wooden door to keep anyone from coming in. Granted they probably weren't going to anyways because there were no thudding footsteps to suggest that they followed me up or that they were going to.

The bubble was back, again, and now it was pure anger and frustration. How can they treat me like I'm some _child_?! I've proven that I'm not just some normal kid! I want to help! I don't want to just sit there and pout and be charged with "holding down the fort". I wanted to scream at the skies and punch the ground. It's been an extremely long time since I've _wanted_ to throw a tantrum. I almost did. I took a few deep breaths and decided to try _one last time_ to convince Dad and Uncle Puppy to let me come with.

I slipped the door back open and crept in the hallway towards the stairs.

"You can't leave things like that Dean. It's not going to do any good." I heard my uncle speak and I stopped walking.

"She can't come. Camilla is a kid who would get herself killed or us caught by going on a case like that. Hell, she shouldn't have even come with us to talk to a witness." Dad grumbled and I pouted a little. "Dad didn't even let me do that until I was _at least_ eighteen Sam. When we were kids we stayed in the hotel while he went out and hunted. I was tasked with looking after you. She's too young. Too inexperienced. Too reckless. If she comes with us she's going to impulsively do _something_ that's going to land us, or worse, _her_ in hot water."

"Then you need to go talk to her, and explain that because right now it's not going to translate Dean." Sam argued.

"How can I do that with a twelve year old? You saw just now, even if I try to explain it's going to be: "But I can handle myself! I can do it, why can't you just trust me!"" Dad mimicked. Uncle Puppy went quiet for a moment.

"She thinks a lot of you Dean," he started quietly. "You're a hero to her and she wants to help. So let her do something helpful. Research." Sam finished and my dad verbally sighed.

"I don't want to screw this up Sam. I want to be close with her. I don't want to butt heads with her every time I tell her how things are supposed to go. A lot of the times it's not as easy as cupcakes and rainbows. I just want her safe. That's all." He confessed. I couldn't help but feel a little warm and fuzzy on the inside. At least he cares at all. "And a hero? Yeah. That's what I am." He sighed sarcastically and I almost marched down there to tell him to stop with the low self-esteem. _I'm_ the teenager, not him.

"You are. And it's not just her, Dean. We've saved so many lives, it's hard to keep track. If it weren't for you, way more people would be gone." Sam's tone was sharp, and he sounded almost angry. "I just wish that for a minute you would worry about yourself."

"Stop that. We're not talking about that right now." Dad snapped and my brows pulled together. What were they even going on about? I mean my dad was a little reckless at times but I can't really say that I ever saw him not take care of himself. "I'll talk to her, go get the car and I'll meet you outside." He ordered. My eyes widened and I quietly went back to the room and closed the door when I heard his boots hitting the stairs. I felt like I was holding my breath until he knocked.

"Hey Princess, do you think you can open up?" Dad asked and I bit my lip. I probably could still act angry but after hearing what he said down there I just didn't have it in me anymore.

"I guess." I responded simply and opened the door. He looked a little awkward in the hallway. Kind of like a turtle sticking his head out of his shell. Good Puppy and Awkward Turtle. What a combo.

"Listen. I just want you safe ok? And the best way that can happen right now is staying where I know you're going to be safe. Here. And, you could do me a pretty big favor while we're gone." I smiled and my eyes lit up with sparkles.

"Anything!" I agreed enthusiastically.

"I need you to look through records of the last two victims. This ghost is going after them for a reason and I wanna know what that reason is. The sooner we can find out how, the sooner we can get rid of him for good." He explained.

"So, wait. You're not going to get rid of him right now?"

"We might. But this is just in case. We're going to mainly protect the guy." He continued. "Can you do that for me?" He asked. I gave him a toothy-wide smile.

"You got it, Dad."

 **Author's Note: See you next week!**

 **WeylandCorp4: Vegas!**

 **Ylnadiir: Real life hauntings!**

 **Yanna: Glad to hear you like it! And, yeah, that will be brought to his attention sooner or later, it's just figuring out how to bring it up to him. In Camilla's defense, he hasn't asked, so she doesn't need to provide an answer. What he doesn't know won't hurt him... Right? Right!**

 **Guest: Glad you love it!**

 **ireallyforgot: Flattered! We will work hard to keep it there!**

 **Trivia: Originally Camilla's name was going to be Lyla, however we were watching Leap (a lot... obsessively?) and I (A) thought that the name of Felicie's rival was Camilla not Camille. "J" was less than amused once she heard my reasoning after the fact.**

 **Question: How do you think research is going to go, considering Camilla's a demi-god?**


	11. Chapter 10

**Author's Note: hey everyone, so unfortunately this isn't a chapter as of right now. J and I had a last minute visit from a friend that was from out of town and we just haven't been able to get around to polishing a chapter to be ready for publishing at this moment. Soon, maybe in a few days or next Tuesday at the latest we will have a chapter ready and it will be posted (and replace this chapter in the story). We sincerely apologize, and appreciate you guys being patient with us!**

 **-A &J**

 **Edited Author's Note: (3/12/19) Sorry it took so long guys! BUT we made it extra long just for you! Thanks for being patient with us! As usual, any comments, questions, or concerns you have, please feel free to leave a review or contact us. :)**

 **Chapter Ten**

Savannah, Georgia

"Red Sky at Morning Part 3"

My eyes started getting heavy with the intense staring at this darn computer screen. I have never had such an intense headache. Not even in school. Something about the screen light was just making everything, including the dyslexia, worse. More numbers and letters floated off and dance around the screen than usual, and they were taunting me. This was the one thing that Uncle Puppy and Dad asked me to do, and I couldn't get passed the first paragraph. I became frustrated and yawned.

"Ugh… Why is this so hard?" I whined while pushing Sam's laptop across the table, if the wobbly, old, rotted thing could be called that.

"Probably because English really isn't your best language." An annoyingly happy voice chipped in and I rolled my eyes and stared back into the mist. I recognized the moppy brown hair and the very tanned skin, along with his big brown eyes. It was the sloppy mess I have grown to know and love.

"Shut up Mattie. Unless you're actually going to say something useful." I snipped. The boy in question merely shrugged his shoulders with a carefree smile. Truth be told, I'm glad he was here. I could get him to help.

"First off, you really need to stop calling me Mattie. It makes it sound like I'm a girl-" Mattie was trying to make a point about something, but um, it was a losing battle since I was nine.

"You are." I interrupted, but he kept talking.

"Also, I can be very helpful if you know how to ask Cami." I rolled my eyes. He sat back in his chair at camp and crossed his arms confidently over his chest. Looking like a smug little shit. I tried to ignore the fact that he was leaner and his arms looked more defined than the last time I saw him.

"Ha-kay-funny." I leaned back and mimicked his pose. "I know you can be helpful, but you don't do it because I say pretty please, you do it because I'm the most-"

"Air-headed?" He interrupted, but I ignored him.

"-beautiful and charismatic twelve year old you know." I finished.

"Is that why? I thought it was because without me you would be lost." Mattie smirked.

"Why would I be lost without my sidekick?" I countered.

"Wait, how am I the sidekick of all things?" Mattie frowned. "I am the better fighter-"

"That's questionable." I interrupted him.

"-I am better looking-" He continued.

"Now we both know that is a complete, and not to mention hopeless, lie." I smirked.

"-and last but not least, I also know that you can change your primary language on a laptop to Greek or French." My eyes widened a little and I was gaping. I tried to close my mouth because of how much Mattie was smirking at my expression. I settled for a glare.

"Why didn't you tell me that?!" I shouted.

"Why would I lessen my fun? Watching you struggle to read the words 'Espirito Santo' for the past five minutes were golden. That and if I told you all of my little tricks then you wouldn't call home anymore." I stated. I stared at him in the mist and shook my head.

"I hate you." I said.

"You don't hate me."

"No I hate you." I nodded to myself as I spoke and Mattie merely shrugged.

"Well then. Since you hate me and this relationship has clearly reached its end, then I suppose I will have to go find a new best friend and tell them how to change the setting in their browser." Mattie sat up and reached up like he was about to swipe away the mist.

"Don't you dare." I pouted. "You are not allowed to leave, at least not until I tell you all about my dad and uncle while you tell me how to adjust my browser."

"You do make a fair point Cami."

"Camilla." I corrected.

"I do need to hear about how this man has single handedly made it so that Camilla Hale, the darling little dove of Aphrodite, actually does her own homework." Mattie was being a little too dramatic for my tastes and I rolled my eyes at him. I did research, and despite what that little trickster would say, a Teen Vogue magazine was research material.

"Alright, how about I give you a step and you tell me something about your new found dad." Mattie suggested and I shrugged. Seeming to take that as an agreement he spoke up again. "First thing that you need to do is go to your settings. It's going to be located on the three little vertical, oh that means straight up and down, dots at the top of your internet browser."

"I know what vertical means you doof. In fact I could tell you all the advantages of vertical, horizontal, and diagonal lines on clothing. All of that aside, here's something that I think you'll like. My dad drives around a fossil of a car that you would probably swoon over." I said while clicking the little dots and looking for the button that said settings, and I tried not to look annoyed when it took more more than five seconds to find the thing.

"Oh so he has a cool car? That doesn't impress me much." Mattie smirked.

"If you start singing I am going to hurt you." I claimed.

"How are you going to hurt me? Your arms are toothpicks and I'm quite a ways away from you." Mattie pointed out.

"I'll ask one of my sisters to curse you in my absence." I smirked and Mattie put his hand over his heart dramatically.

"I thought we were friends Camille." I rolled my eyes at him.

"You're missing the "la" my name is Camilla, not Camille." I corrected him yet again but he pretended not to notice.

"And well friends, they just don't curse one another with awful makeup and clothing. If you did that well then the war would have to start between us and I have the upper hand with pranks. I can turn that blonde hair green." Mattie threatened.

"If you turned my hair green I would turn your skin pink." I retorted. "Now, weren't you going to tell me how to change the language settings?" I asked.

"Right. Well you need to scroll down to the bottom of the page, there is a button that says "advanced settings" you need to click it." Mattie said. "And remember, you started this by calling out my singing."

"You're not an Apollo kid and your singing sounds awful." I said.

"It does not." Mattie argued.

"Anyways. My dad was like seventeen or eighteen when I was born." I started to say but Mattie interrupted.

"Oh. So is that why he gave you up? He was too young to take care of a kid?" He asked and I shook my head.

"My dad never knew I was even born. I guess when my mom gave me to my mortal family I was given to my Grandpa, and he decided that this wasn't a good idea or something. So he took me to a hospital and put me up for adoption under a fake name. My family's actual name is Winchester." I explained.

"Ouch. So you're Camilla Winchester? That's a type of gun. Huh." Mattie paused to think. "Actually, you being a pistol is super fitting." Mattie nodded to himself and I rolled my eyes at his lame joke.

"Mattie. Languages."

"Right, so you will want to scroll down to where it says "language" and it will be set up in English. Click that and you can change it to Greek or French. I recommend French."

"You are a lifesaver. Thanks." I threw a charming smile his way and he rolled his eyes.

"Anything for my little adopted and dysfunctional sister. Regardless… Do you feel safe going around the country with these guys?" Mattie asked, and his face scrunched up a bit and he looked worried. It was kinda cute.

"Yea. I feel perfectly fine Mattie. They're strong and they are what are known as "Hunters". I guess it's a thing where some mortals go hunting supernatural creatures. So they have been fairly cool with my whole monsters wanna eat me thing."

"Hunters? Camilla are you sure that's even safe? What if they think..." Mattie trailed off but I knew what he was thinking.

"They aren't going to hurt me Mattie. I've told them everything and they like me for who I am. I mean yeah, my dad was a little upset at first, but he got over it. My uncle has been super accepting too." I reassured him. "I'm going to be okay, and they're helping me train. So it's like camp away from camp. Only there aren't bonfire songs and angry little Ares children trying to spear everything."

"Hey, you're forgetting about the best part of camp."

"The food?" I teased.

"Ha. Ha. You're forgetting about your incredible best friend who will save you at a moments notice if these guys end up being… Well bad people." Mattie tried to play it off as a joke but I could see how serious his eyes were. So I simply smiled.

"If I need rescuing I'll get myself out and I'll call you." I reassured him.

"Good. Um, I gotta go Cami. There's some training sessions I'm going to be helping with since… Well… I gotta go." Mattie said and I nodded. I knew that he missed Luke, and despite what his brother was doing it was still hard. Luke was a good big brother and he was like everyone's friend at camp. He was a good guy before he went all darkside.

"Bye Mattie. I'll keep in touch." I said as I swiped my hand through the mist and watched his image break away. I sat at the computer and continued trying to do some research for my dad and uncle. My eyes were starting to sting and get a little heavy while I tried focusing on the ship. It was some sort of trading vessel. I was about to start reading about facts involving the ship, but before I knew it I was waking up to someone picking me up. I stirred a bit and tried to reach for my boot but my hand met skin where my socks should have been.

"Time for bed Princess." I heard the familiar gruff voice belonging to my dad and I heard someone else moving around in the background as I was carried up the stairs. I tiredly just sort of nested myself more into my dad's arms.

"Dean?" My uncle started, but I was already dozing off. "Why is my computer in French?"

The next morning I was sitting on the couch next to my uncle while trying to convince my dad to order in something healthy, and delicious, and something that wasn't going to kill him at the age of forty. My uncle was reading some of the documents he had printed out after he made his default language back to English. It was an interesting conversation when I told them that I changed the setting to make it easier to read. My uncle was impressed to know that I knew multiple languages and my dad was confused how I was dyslexic in one language but not in the other. I sort of shrugged it off. Overall it was a good start to the morning until there was a knocking at the door.

"I told you we would get arrested." I whispered to my dad.

"Shush." He said and took out his gun as he walked closer to the door. He peeked out of the little hole on the door and then groaned before putting his gun away and opening the door. I grimaced when the she-devil herself walked in with all her splitended glory.

"Dear… God." Bela almost laughed and my uncle sighed. "Are you actually squatting? Charming." She walked in almost like she owned the place and looked at my uncle and dad. "So how'd things go last night with Peter?" She asked and I frowned at her. I didn't even ask them about it because it didn't take a rocket scientist to know that it hadn't gone well. Someone died and she sat here acting like it was almost funny or some sort of game.

"If you say 'I told you so', I swear to God I'll start swinging." My dad responded

"Look, I think the three of us should have a heart-to-heart" She softened.

"Four!" I coughed. Don't act like I'm not here lady. "The four of us should have a heart-to-heart."

"No it's still three." My dad said. "Bela doesn't have one." I had to keep myself from laughing at that one, and I simply smirked at Madam Monochrome.

"Dean please… I'm sorry about what I said before, okay?" She tried to sound sincere but she just sort of looked like she was pouting. Gross. "I come bearing gifts." Split ends smiled and I rolled my eyes. My uncle took the bait though.

"Such as?" Sam asked.

"I've ID'd the ship." She said as she took out a portfolio file. I smirked and crossed my arms.

"The _Espirito Santo_." I grinned. "It's a merchant sailing vessel." I said confidently and I saw her brow raise a little. "Sorry honey I beat you to it."

"Oh? Then I suppose you know all about the sailor from 1859?" She questioned and I frowned. Maybe I hadn't gotten that fair but it was only a matter of time. Madame Monochrome smiled at me. "He was a sailor accused of treason. He was tried aboard the ship in a kangaroo court and hanged. He was thirty seven." Split Ends explained with a smile and I rolled my eyes.

"So that explains the thirty seven year cycle." Uncle Puppy said and I frowned at him. Traitor.

"Aren't you a sharp tack?" Bela said as she flipped through the file she brought. "There's a photo of him somewhere… ah, here." She produced the photo to my uncle and dad and I strained my neck to see it better.

"Isn't that the customer we saw last night?" Dean asked, glancing at Sam.

"You saw him?" Split Ends asked.

"Yeah, that's him, except he was missing a hand." My dad added. He definitely had both of his hands in the photo...

"His right hand?" Bela asked.

"How'd you know?" Sam asked.

"The sailor's body was cremated but not before they cut off his hand to make a hand of glory." She explained.

"Hand of glory? I think I got one of those at the end of my Thai massage last week." My dad laughed and I rolled my eyes.

"Gross." I muttered and he awkwardly cleared his throat. Apparently now remembering that his daughter was present.

"Dean, the right hand of a hanged man is a serious occult object. It's very powerful." Sam slightly scolded Dad. I saw some color drain from his face. I didn't know much about the occult, but I was very willing to believe there were objects of power, sort of like what we had. I guess there was still a lot I needed to catch up on in that darn journal.

"So they say." Bela injected.

"Officially it counts as remains" Dean added.

"But still none of this explains why the ghost is choosing these victims." Sam countered.

"I'll tell you why." Bela offered and I looked at her in surprise. Did she really piece it all together? "Who cares? Find the hand, burn it, and stop the bloody thing." She finished and I sighed. I gave her too much faith.

"I don't get it. Why are you telling us all of this?" Dad asked.

"Because I know exactly where the hand is." Split Ends offered and I raised my eyebrow. This feels shady.

"Where?" Dad asked suspiciously.

"At the Sea Pines Museum. It's a macabre bit of maritime history." She smiled. "But I need help." My dad rose his eyebrow as he looked at her.

"What kind of help?" Sam questioned. Bela merely smirked.

I was straightening out the suit that my dad was wearing. He looked good, very cleaned up and nice, and I was fuming. My hair was perfectly curled and my makeup was on point. I had the cutest little black dress that I could have worn and it had polka dots! I deserved to dress up too!

"Stop pouting. It will not change my mind." My dad said.

"I don't get why I can't go." I grumbled. "You and Uncle Puppy are going and with that she-devil. But I have to stay here and what hold down the fort while you guys go get the hand and burn it. I thought I was suppose to be a young hunter in training." I pouted.

"You are in training. Today's lesson is listening." Dean said. I frowned at him and was planning to argue some more but Bela's annoying voice rang from down stairs. One of these days I was gonna curse her.

"What is taking so long? Sam's already halfway there... with his date." I could hear the humor lacing Bela's voice.

"So not okay with this!" My dad shouted from the top of the stairs.

"Me neither." I snipped and he glared at me. Before he could scold me though Bela shouted from downstairs.

"What are you, a woman? Come down already." My dad straightened his posture when she shouted and started walking down the stairs and I grumpily followed him. I saw Bela's jaw drop as she saw my dad descend the stairs wearing a very sharp tux, if I do say so myself.

"Alright, get it out – I look ridiculous." He quipped.

"Do not say that about my handy work." I pouted as Split Ends spoke.

"Not exactly the word I'd use." Bela and I chorused. I lighted rolled my eyes at my dad apparent aversion to dressing nicely and cleaning up every once in a while. He could look so much better if he actually tried. Granted, anything's better than those old plaid shirts he rotates through every week.

"What?" Dean gave Split Ends a confused look while she was practically staring at him like a fine steak. It made me uncomfortable. I know I did good, but lay off Lady. Go take your affection elsewhere.

"You know, when this is over, we should really have angry sex." She blurted and I could feel my ears get red.

"Don't objectify me. My kid is standing right there. Let's go." He huffed.

"Yeah, don't talk to my dad like that. You are far beneath his league anyway." I quipped. I went to go grab my purse and follow my dad out the door, when he placed his hand on my shoulder.

"No, Princess, you are staying here." My dad ordered. I felt my face fall into a frown as he gave me a hard look.

"Again?" I whined. "But I want to go! I wanna help."

"You'll get in the way Brat." Bela interjected.

"Call her Brat one more time and I will shoot you." Dad warned. I couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy inside from that. "You need to stay here. It's late and I want you to get some sleep. And if you can't sleep, I need you to read this. Something Sam and I have been working on all day." He said as he handed me a manila envelope. I blinked and opened up the envelope and pulled out a good sized stack of papers typed out in French. My eyes bulged out of my skull realizing what he had done. He had translated that old journal into French so that I could read it!

"Sam explained to me what you had explained to him about your dyslexia. I figured that was why it was taking you awhile to get through that journal. Sammy and I have been translating it all day so you can read it." I could feel some tears welling up in my eyes. I refuse to cry due to the fact that Split Ends was still right over there watching us, and possibly listening to us. I threw my arms around him and gave him a hug. I felt his arms snake around my waist to return the hug.

"Thank you!" I said into his chest.

"As heart warming as this all this. We need to get going." Bela ruined the moment and I looked around my dad's torso to glare at her.

"May all your makeup smear." I said and a faint pink hue enveloped her for a brief second. Luckily my dad's back was turned since he was hugging me so he didn't notice. She rolled her eyes, grabbed my dad's arm, and pulled him out to the car. I snickered as she left. No amount of primer was going to save her look today.

I stood by the door for a minute until I heard the car pulling away and sighed looking down at my nice dress shoes. I felt like Cinderella getting left at home when she wanted to go to the ball. I didn't understand why I couldn't go too. I would have been very helpful. I sighed as I trudged up the stairs and took off the dress I was wearing and put on my pajamas. If my fairy god mother shows up she can make do with a nightgown.

I sat on the couch and started looking at the translated pages. There were a few errors here and there and you could almost tell that dad had used google translate but it made me smile nonetheless. It was still cute. Maybe next time I could just ask Sammy to read the journal to me in the car, or I could give them lessons in French. Or both. I sat on the couch with the journal at one side and the translated pages on another and cross referenced them and made little edits.

I fell asleep on the couch and jumped when I heard the front door slam open. I rolled off the couch and laid on the ground hearing boots hit the floor. Heavy footsteps echoed around the house while my dad ripped off his jacket. Sam had jogged upstairs and grabbed their duffels. I was frozen on the spot.

"I'm going to murder her!" My dad shouted and I grimaced from the floor.

"Dean." Sam started, as he handed my dad some jeans and a flannel. I looked down at the ground. I didn't have it in me to try and say anything or even announce that I was awake.

"No you're right. I think slow torture is the way to go!" Dad snapped, still clearly angry and I covered my ears.

"Dean! Calm down. You're going to wake-" My uncle started to say but spotted me on the floor, eyes wide and probably looking less than fabulous. Okay… Maybe I teared up a little bit but hearing my dad yell… It… It was scary.

"Hey Princess..." My dad sighed. "I'm sorry." He walked over and crouched down as he helped me off the floor. I sniffled a bit.

"It's okay..." I said. "What's going on? Did you guys burn the hand?" I asked.

"We wish." Sam sighed.

"Bela pulled one on us, she has the hand and she's probably sold it to some poor sap." My dad said, sounding annoyed.

"You..." Sam said and my dad and I both looked at him.

"What?" Dean asked and I sort of wished that in that moment he wasn't holding onto me.

"You… She pulled a fast one on… you. Not us." Sam sort of stuttered.

"Thank you Sam!" Dad shouted. "Very helpful!" He snapped and I grimaced again. Their fighting couldn't really continue though because there was a loud banging on the door. I jumped again and my dad moved me behind him. Something that I was grateful for. Did the ghost want to hurt us because they were trying to kill him? Again?

"Hello, could you open up?" Bela sounded frantic and honestly scared. She should be if she came back here after she stole from my dad. I believe him when he said he wanted to kill her. My dad strolled over to the door and opened it up to reveal a rather scared looking Bela.

"Just let me explain…" She started. Dad and Uncle Sam sat her down at the table and I took a chair not far from her. "I sold it, I've had a buyer lined up since I knew it existed." Dad stood up again and walked around her, making a shooting motion.

"So the whole reason for us going to the Charity Ball was...?" Sam questioned.

"I needed a cover. You were convenient." Split Ends admitted as she looked away..

"Look, you sold it to a buyer, just go buy it back." Sam said. She grimaced and I sighed.

"It's halfway across the ocean. I can't get it back in time." Bela said.

"In time for what?" Dad asked, sternly.

"What's going on with you, Bela? You look like you've seen a ghost." Sam raised an eyebrow.

"I saw the ship." Bela said quietly. Still avoiding eye contact with my uncle and dad.

"You what?" Dean, asked walking over to her. "Wow, you know, I knew you were an immoral thieving con artist bitch but just when I thought my opinion of you couldn't get any lower –"

"What are you talking about?" Bela

"We figured out the spirit's motive." I blinked at Uncle Puppy's statement. I don't know how long I was asleep for but it didn't seem long enough to dig that deep. My uncle walked over with a photo and showed her. "This is the captain of our ship. The one who hung our ghost boy."

"So?" Bela asked.

"So they were brothers. Very Cain and Abel. So now our spirit, he's going after a very specific kind of target – people who've spilled their own family's blood." Sam looked at Bela as her face paled. "See first there was Shelia who killed her cousin in a car accident, and the Warren brothers, who murdered their father for the inheritance, and now you."

"Oh, my God." She stole the words right out of my mind.

"So who was it, Bela? Hmmm? Who'd you kill? Was it daddy? Little sis, maybe?" Dean asked.

"It's none of your business." Bela didn't say anything else and her eyes were focused on the floor. I sat up a little straighter in my chair when I heard her. Something about the way her face twisted and the way she wouldn't look at them… It felt like… Like when I was listening to my foster brother talk about Mr. Davidson...

"No, you're right. Well, have a nice life – you know, whatever's left of it." Dad patted her shoulder and walked past Sam and over to me. "Sam, Camilla, let's go." Dean said as he hauled me out of my chair. I gaped at him when he started pulling on me.

"You can't just leave me here." Bela gasped as she stood.

"Watch us." Dean glanced back her and he let go of me and grabbed his coat.

"Please. I need your help." Bela pleaded, as much as a woman like her could plead.

"Our help?" Dad threw down his jacket on the kitchen counter. "Now how could a couple of serial killers possibly help you?" Dean spat at her.

"Okay, that was a bit harsh, I admit it, but it doesn't warrant a death sentence." Bela said. I felt for her, probably more than I should...

"That's not why you're gonna die. What did you do, Bela?" Sam said at last.

"You wouldn't understand, no one did." There was a heavy pause. "Never mind, I'll just do what I've always done, I'll deal with it myself." Bela turned and walked away from them, heading to the door and I felt the lump in my throat grow.

"You do realise you just sold the one thing that could save your life." Dad said and I walked over to Bela as she stopped walking.

"I'm aware." Bela said. Dad nodded and I finally found my voice again.

"No." I said. The adults turned and looked at me when I walked past Bella and leaned against the door. "No." I blocked Bela's way out.

"Camilla." My dad started.

"Don't even. This is not who we are." I snapped. I felt my anger boiling now. "Bela is… an awful person." She scuffed but I didn't stop. "She's said horrible things to you and that wasn't right but we are bigger people." I looked directly at my dad.

"She sold the only thing-" My dad started.

"I don't care!" I interrupted. "I'm not going to kill her by doing nothing. I won't. That is not me and that is not you!" I snapped at the both of them. I looked at Bela then. "You're an awful person and you need to give my dad a real apology. But we don't have time for that right now. Right now we need a way to save you. So sit down." I wanted to say that I understood, that I knew why she did it. But… I couldn't get the words out.

"The hand was the only thing that could have saved her," My dad insisted. "And she sold it."

"But, maybe not the only thing." Sam interjected. I looked at him as he looked at all of us. My dad looked at him and I smiled at my uncle. I got in the car with my dad while my uncle got in the car with Bela. Probably because he was less likely to kill her for breathing at the moment. The car ride was a tense silence as we pulled up to the cemetery. I looked at my dad.

"This is the right thing..." I said. "If she dies… Well at least we tried to save her. That's what matters." I said quietly getting out. My dad followed me out.

"That we tried?" Dean asked.

"That we didn't do nothing." I corrected and hugged him. "That's not who we are." I repeated as Bela and Sam walked over. We gathered in a little circle.

"I would have you wait in the car but… Dividing would only be more dangerous." My dad said as he handed me a heavy iron bar. "You see anything not human you swing hard okay?" He looked at me in the eyes and I swallowed my nerves and nodded my head.

"I got it." I said.

"And you stay with us." He said and I nodded.

"Do you really think this is going to work?" Bela asked as she looked around the cemetery.

"Almost definitely not." Dad stated. Helpful. I gasped when a heavy storm started brewing. Almost as if Zeus himself were gearing up for war over this little graveyard. Rain started to pour down and lightning flashed overhead. "Sammy, you better start reading." At that Sam started reading from some pages in latin. Annabeth would be impressed. As he continued reading, the candles went out, and the storm intensified. The winds picked up, and the rain started pouring harder, and the thunder got louder. "Stay close!" Dad pulled me a little bit more towards him and kept an eye on Bela.

"Behind you!" Bela shouted, and dad whipped around to see a man had appeared behind him, grabbed him and threw him into a grave marker like a rag doll. The ghost looked at Bela and he stroked the side of her face, but I was more focused on my dad who had gone flying.

"Dad!" I shouted as Bela suddenly started to cough up water. A lot of water. A gunshot ripped through the air, missing him and Bela continued to regurgitate more and more water as Dad ran to her side.

"Sammy, read faster!" Dean demanded. Bela began to cry and I ran over to her too and hit her back to try and help. Uncle Sam continued his incantation, and when he came to the end of it, the rain immediately stopped. I glanced at the spirit and saw a new one had joined up.

"You…" The sailor said as he looked at the ghost that appeared. It was another man from the photo. "...hanged me." He growled.

"I'm sorry." The other ghost said. But the one that was trying to kill Bela didn't lighten up in the slightest.

"Your own brother." The sailor growled.

"I'm so sorry." The brother repeated. The sailor lunged for his brother and seemed to plow through him as a figure of water, slowly making the brother vanish with him, screaming. It wasn't a sight I would soon forget. Dean and Sam ushered Bela to her car, and Dad plopped me into the back seat of the Impala where I anxiously was trying to look over at Bela to make sure she was ok. Oddly enough, I couldn't help but now feel somewhat connected to her.

"Stay here." Dad ordered as he went over to Bela and Sam and gave her a once over. She shooed them away and they both came back to the car, seemingly annoyed. Everything was ok, that's for sure. I sat in the back of the car leaned against the window trying to process everything that I saw. It was… not what I expected. I mean I've seen monsters you know? I've fought Empousai more than once and every so often there is a run in with the occasional Hell Hound. Ghosts… That was new and he looked…. Kinda human? I mean his skin was ghastly and his hair was moppy but I felt like I could have reached out and touched him.

That was what I eventually fell asleep to in the backseat of the impala. I dreamt of Bela as she choked on water out in the rain. The thunder and lightning that tore up the sky and how wet and cold I felt. I saw her sitting in the chair, when my dad was interrogating her and she said that he wouldn't understand. That no one ever did. I dreamt of Mr. Davidson when he was holding me by my hair and I kicked at him trying to get away. Then there was the weirdest part of the dream… I dreamt of hell hounds stalking through the shadows and I heard a man screaming. I woke with a start in the morning. I was laying on the couch and heard a dog barking outside.

"Good morning sleeping beauty." I heard my dad chime from where he was packing his duffel bag. I sat up and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and tried to shake the feeling of ice that had settled in my chest. I slid off of the couch and looked around, almost as if I was trying to find something or see something. I don't know. Maybe it was the dream.

"Grab your duffel Princess." My dad started as he tossed the pink bag onto the couch that I had been laying on. "I wanna be on the road in about twenty minutes or so." He said and I groaned.

"Can't I shower?" I complained.

"Okay then. We leave in 30 minutes so you should hurry it up Princess." Dad said as he patted my head and shooed me up the stairs. I rolled my eyes and walked up the stairs to enjoy a brief (because Dad was pounding on the door after five minutes) shower to detangle my hair. I pouted while I got dressed and started to trudge down the stairs. Can't a girl have ten or maybe twenty minutes to make a good impression on the rest of the world? I can't just roll out of bed and go like he does.

As I trudged down the stairs and started to fold my clothes so I could put them in the duffel bag securely I heard the door opening. My dad looked up and almost immediately motioned for me to move closer to him. Such a cute bear of a man. I looked at the door and saw Split Ends walking in dressed in all black, again. The girl needed some color. Not that black was a bad color but sometimes you needed that pink or red to pop you know?

"You boys should learn to lock your doors." She said as she strutted over to my uncle. "Anyone could just barge in."

"Anyone just did." My uncle responded almost tiredly, and honestly I didn't quite blame the man. That woman was tiresome. "Did you come to say goodbye or thank you?" My uncle asked.

"I've come to settle affairs." Bela said as she reached into her bag and pulled out what looked like a lot of money. Huh. I should have charmspoke her for more than the seemingly measly five-hundred. My dad stood up and made me sit on the couch and gave me a look that said stay. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. "Giving the spirit what he really wanted, his own brother, very clever Sam." Split Ends complimented. Aww she knows how.

"So here." Bela tossed a bundle of cash to Sam and then tossed another one to my dad. They both caught it with ease. What surprised me, and made my dad almost immediately block her path was when she started walking over to me. "Oh come on. I won't bite the little goblin." Bela said and I scoffed. Goblin? Then what was she? A troll.

"This little Goblin can take care of herself." I argued as I stood up and walked over to Bela, who merely smirked in my direction. I tried not to huff. I was the lady of our little… house? Car. Thing. Whatever. I was the lady of the family. Before I got launched into a verbal beatdown Bela tossed something to me and I reflexively reached up to catch it. It was another wad of cash, but it was smaller than my dads and uncle's from what I could tell.

"Here you go half pint." Split Ends said. "It's $15,000. That should cover it. I don't like being in anyone's debt." She said. My dad looked at me and instantly took the little bundle of money out of my hands.

"So ponying up fifteen grand is easier than saying thank you?" My dad asked and sort of chuckled. "You're so damaged." He said and I elbowed him in the side. Rude. Rude to a troll but rude nonetheless.

"Takes one to know one." She smiled. "Goodbye lads." She turned and walked out while my dad and uncle inspected the money that we had just received. After the door closed my dad walked over to my uncle and I put my clothes away.

"She's got style, you gotta give her that." Uncle Puppy let out a breath and looked at my dad, who was still pawing the money.

"I suppose." My dad responded. Sam sighed.

"Dean. We don't know where this money has been." Sam cautioned.

"No." My dad admitted. "But I know where it is going." He patted my uncle's shoulder and walked back over to the couch and snagged his duffle and placed the money inside.

"Yea. A nice hotel and a shopping trip." I said and my dad rolled his eyes.

"More important things than clothing Camilla." He said and I rolled my eyes and walked to the door.

"Nothing is more important." I said as I ran outside, and completely ignored the where are you going in favor of scanning the cars real quick and saw Bela's silver one started to pull away. I sprinted after her car and shouted out. Putting as much charm as I could into a single command. "Wait!" She paused her actions, and stopped the car. Unfortunately she wasn't the only one. A jogger had suddenly stopped too and a little kid dropped their basketball. I chose to ignore that.

"There you go again with that little skill of yours." Bela huffed and looked at me from her car window. "I've already paid my debt half pint. You're not getting any more out of me." She said and I rolled my eyes and leaned against her car window.

"I'm not here to get money from you." Which I easily could, but I wasn't feeling it. "I um… You're a pretty messed up person, and your wardrobe suffers from not having colors other than black. I don't like that you clearly have a thing for my dad, which by the way you need to lock very deep into your heart and never let out again. But..." I bit my lip. "I know why you did it."

"Why I said I wanted to have angry sex with-" I cut her off.

"Gross. No. I meant I know why you killed your dad." I said and saw her eyebrow raise ever so slightly. "I wouldn't have done it myself, and currently my real dad is a serious upgrade from the foster ones. But I get it." I tapped the roof of her car and stepped back as my dad came barreling outside. Probably to herd me to the car and lock me in there for talking to the she-devil.

"Cute. But sweetheart you don't know the half of it." She rolled up her window at that and drove away. I huffed as my dad grabbed a hold of my arm and started to walk me over to the car. So much for having a heart to heart. Or a heart-to-no-heart.

"I don't want you socializing with her." My dad said. "She's not the kind of female influence you need in your life. I'll introduce you to Jo and Ellen." He opened the door and ushered me into the car.

"Jo and Ellen?" I asked.

"Friends of ours." My uncle responded as he put his and my dad's bag in the trunk and then sat up front. "But first we'll have you meet Bobby. He's a good guy and we can figure out how to enroll you in school." Sam said and I paled.

"Ew. School? No. Come on, there has to be a away to like… home-school me right? I mean when will I even have time for school. I can do stuff on the computer now too. It's not like when you guys were young." I blurted.

"When we were young?" My dad questioned while my uncle spoke up.

"You need to develop social skills too Camilla. School is important." He argued and I rolled my eyes.

"I have social skills." I argued back. "We are taught a lot at camp and how would you enroll me anyways? Wouldn't that, oh I don't know, get the attention of social services?" I asked. Hoping that it would sway them to my side of this.

"We're working on that." Uncle Puppy reassured.

"Come on Princess," my dad tried to argue for my Uncle's side. The traitor. "It'll be a good thing." He said.

"Pas vraiment." I pouted.

"What?" Dad asked, eyeing me in the rear-view mirror.

"You should learn French." I responded.

"Why would I learn French?" He asked.

"Well for starters you would know what I just said." I smirked. "And you'd know enough French to know when I'm insulting you." I don't know exactly what he did after that, but I assume he probably rolled his eyes. I smiled to myself when we drove out of town. Hopefully the next one would be better.

 **Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed, we will see ya'll in two weeks!**

 **Slim A Lou Prime: Research was definitely interesting, hope this chapter didn't disappoint!**

 **Ylnadiir: Camilla is the cutest as she would full-heartedly agree. We hope to explore more of a father-daughter dynamic in later chapters.**

 **Trey Alexander: We agree that Sam and Dean are very all-too-ready to toss their live away for anyone remotely important in their lives. Can't really say Aphrodite would pay much mind or intervene much. Probably small visits here and there but nothing too extensive.**

 **WeylandCorp 4: Camilla agrees, research is a bitch! As for what she looks like, or a comparative photo is someone we think best fits her description would be Varvara Sokolova, at least from what A and I could find. She is blonde, more like a dirty blonde with green eyes like Deans but her eyes can shift colors due to her divine heritage. She's a very beautiful child and almost model-like. As such with other Aphrodite's children. Demi-gods are all around very good looking, just Aphrodite's more so. If we had to compare her to someone, it would be the name given earlier, but even still doesn't quite hit the nail on the head for us.**

 **MangoCheese: It did! And luckily Mattie is there to save the day. As for the Demi-god dreams, she has them, but not as frequently as an Apollo kid.**

 **Question: What'd ya'll think of Mattie?!**

 **Trivia:** **Camilla has a fear of isolation and abandonment. She also is afraid of Kampe, who was the jailer of Tartarus.**


	12. Chapter 11

**Author's Note:** **We are so sorry again about missing a couple of weeks ago, and as it turns out, when we updated the chapter, it didn't notify _anyone_ about the update! Ahh! SO this is chapter ELEVEN. If you have not read chapter ten, because FanFiction did not notify you that the chapter was updated, go read Chapter Ten first, then come back here. We are posting now because we have a friend coming in tomorrow to visit, and we aren't going to have time to do it tomorrow, so here's a chapter a day early! We will be back on schedule, posting every two weeks like it was before, this is just a special thank you. As usual, if you have any comments, questions or concerns, feel free to leave a review or shoot us a PM. Thanks again for reading and hope you enjoy! :)**

 **-A &J**

 **Chapter Eleven**

Albany, New York

"Fresh Blood"

"Listen all I am saying is that you could benefit from a change in wardrobe." I said as I laid out some clothes on the bed. The new black mini skirt paired nicely with the black leggings and the white T-shirt was a nice touch. I needed something with color… Maybe I could get a red jacket? Or should I get a black jacket and have a scarf? I mean it was December so I think the scarf and a black big jacket would be a reasonable combination.

"We live in a car." My dad scolded. "And where would you even put all the clothes Princess? I think it's time you make a few donations to GoodWill." He said and I rolled my eyes.

"My extra clothes can be in the trunk, or you can get a storage unit. As for donations… Well I do have somethings I could give away, but that doesn't mean I'm not replacing it. You on the other hand are in need a clothing donation. I mean come on," I flipped my hair over my shoulder for extra effect and looked at a very unamused Dean. "You two have like ten shirts each, like two pairs of jeans, one pair of boots, and like… what a jacket? Oh yea and the suit you wear for impersonating the FBI. Oh and the _one_ tux for Homeland Security, and fancy parties, which you should wear more often by the way." I saw Sam shiver, maybe from remembering the Elegant Cougar.

"And it already feels like too much." Dad said and I sighed.

"It's too little. As for me I have like two pairs of shoes-oh three now! Three dresses, seven shirts, two pairs of shorts, three pairs of jeans, two pairs of leggings, two skirts, and two jackets but I need another one." I counted off and grimaced. "Oh my gods… That's only for main articles of clothing Dad. Not counting the scarfs and hats... I need like, another duffel." I looked up at him.

"I'm pretty sure that's more than what Sam and I have combined. You'll live." Dad said and I huffed while he drew salt lines on the windows and near the door.

"You just got ten grand from Bela. I, if you would let me use it, got five grand from her. You can spare like two hundred for shopping!" I argued. Although I would rather spend like five hundred…

"It's for other stuff." My dad argued.

"Gambling..." I muttered.

"And other things Camilla." Dad said in a serious tone. "You will live with your one stuffed duffel of clothing." He patted my head and I swatted away his hand.

"Your dad and I are going to go look at some evidence to see what we're up against." Uncle Sammy interrupted, likely trying to change the conversation to something other than his wardrobe. Shame, because I felt the need to educate them, "In the meantime you should stay here." He said.

"I always have to stay in the room." I groaned.

"We're leaving some cash, so buy a pizza for something, but stay put." Dad said.

"And how am I supposed to do that Sherlock?" I asked.

"Pick up a phone." Dad said as he started to walk out.

"I can't." I called out as I followed them outside to the car.

"Why? Is it a germ thing? There are some disinfectant wipes in Sam's duffel. Use those." Dad said as he got into the driver's seat and Sam got in the car too. I shook my head at his comment and stopped him from closing his door.

"No, Sherlock." I let go of his door once I was sure he wasn't just gonna close it on me and crossed my arms. "Demi-Gods can't use phones. I can't order a pizza." I tried to explain.

"What?" Dad's face scrunched up in confusion.

"Phones are like the sure fire way for monsters to come looking for me. One phone call and it's like a neon sign that says 'I'm here! Come and get it!'" I shouted for extra effect, and chose to ignore my dad trying to shush me. "It's like I'm some all-you-can-eat buffet that just called them to dinner." My dad hit his head lightly on the steering wheel.

"Couldn't have a regular, pick up the phone and order a pizza, sort of twelve year old could I?" Dad grumbled. "Fine. Get in." He relented and I grinned.

"Thank you." I said sweetly as I slid into the back seat. "Honestly you can just take me to get some food and drop me off." I shrugged.

"I thought you wanted to come." Sam turned back to look at me and I shrugged again.

"There is a laundry room for the guests here, and I need to wash my clothes not to mention yours." I said.

"Our clothes aren't that bad." Dad tried to defend himself.

"Oh trust me. It is that bad." I patted the back of his seat. "But don't worry because that is why you have a daughter. A smart and hygienic daughter." I smiled at him and he just sort of shook his head.

"Well if we're dealing with what I think we might be then it's probably better that you stay in the motel." My uncle chimed in and I tilted my head slightly.

"That's what you two say with everything." I leaned closer to their seat. "Honestly though, I can't just stay on the side lines. If I'm going to be a hunter like you two are then I need to be there for it you know?"

"Well you're not a Hunter." Dad said a little sharply.

"Hunter in training. Whatever you want to call it." I shrugged.

"I'd rather you never hunt actually." Dad said as he pulled up to some sort of diner. When he parked the car he turned in his seat and looked back at me. "It is messy business and you could die Camilla. We are teaching you what you need to know to survive but not so that you can hunt these things when you're our age." My dad continued and I frowned at him.

"I don't want to sit on the sidelines while you two are out there risking everything. I want to help. Do you have any idea how awful I would feel if I could have done something to save you, or to help you, but I didn't because I wasn't properly trained?" I asked them.

"It's not an easy life Camilla." My uncle chimed in. "It is messy and dirty work that tends to get you killed…" He said as he looked over at my Dad. "We want you to have more than that in life. It's why you're going to be enrolled in school starting in January." My uncle said and I groaned.

"Being a Demi-God isn't an easy life." I snapped at him. "I am constantly going to be hunted till the day I die. I'm not going to lay around or try to hide behind other people." I took a calming breath, and mentally counted to ten. "Everyone always thinks that Aphrodite kids can't do anything. Like we are models and that's it. I don't want to be that way." I said as I climbed out of the car.

"We just want you to be safe." My dad said. "You know… I… We won't be around forever sweetheart. I want you to be able to walk away from hunting one day, and you're too young anyways..." My dad seemed to stare even harder at me when he said that. I couldn't imagine them not being around to be honest.

"How old were you?" I asked.

"That is different." He responded almost immediately, huh, guess he was younger then. "Sammy and I didn't have a choice in the matter." Dad said.

"Well neither do I." I responded watching him and Sam step out of the car too.

"We will talk about this later." My dad sighed. "For now I want to get you some food to head back at the motel." He walked in and I followed him inside.

"What happened to gathering evidence?" I asked.

"Oh we will be, and you will be in the motel learning how to read." He said and I rolled my eyes.

"I know how to read." I deadpanned.

"In English." He corrected.

"Once again I know how to read, I have dyslexia I'm not uneducated." I defended myself. Jerk.

"When was the last time you were in a public school?" My uncle asked, and I frowned.

"I go to school… Sometimes… and we have basic classes at camp too. I know my ABCs and I know basic math." I said.

"Hey Dean we need to stop at a store on the way home. I want to pick up a learning packet and see where Camilla is with her education." Uncle Puppy said.

"I'm not torturing the poor kid." Dad said.

"Yeah!" I shouted out. "He doesn't want to torture me!"

"I'm just trying to see where you are so we can see where we need to catch you up to. You've been bouncing around a lot, at least I assume, and while it might be harder, we want you to have a good education. I barely scraped by with this life Camilla. You dad didn't even come _close_ to it." Uncle Puppy paused for a moment and my dad took the opportunity to speak up.

"Hey!" Dean protested, Uncle Puppy ignored him.

"Point is, we want you to have a better life than this. If that means training you to be able to defend yourself against these things fine, but we're gonna take it slow because we care about you. Besides that you need a good job to be able to support yourself doing this." Uncle Puppy paused, and I was genuinely shocked. Dad gave him a look of daggers. _If looks could kill…_

"... Okay Uncle Sam…" I relented. He made a good argument. How is he not a lawyer? "You know, you could be a really good Lawyer, you like to argue." I lightly teased. His face dropped a little like it was painful to think about it.

"Yea, I thought so too." He admitted. _Ouch_.

"We'll meet you at the motel in two hours. Stay out of trouble please." Dad pleaded.

"Ok, Dad." I smiled and waltzed into the diner. When do _I_ ever get into trouble? Okay there was the one time I ran away, but _that_ was completely warranted! And okay, _maybe_ the one time I hitchhiked with some random, possibly creepy, dude but that was _before_ I met them so that doesn't count! It's not like I _died_ or got _kidnapped_ or anything!

I sat in the diner for awhile, and I ate some food then headed back to the motel. It took awhile to walk back since they left me at the diner but I made my way back and got the bags and put all the clothes in one of the larger duffels and grabbed a couple of dollars. I walked down to the main building and waved at the lady at the counter.

"Can I exchange some dollars for coins?" I asked.

"For the laundry? You don't have to use change, you just need to swipe your room card and it will be billed to you." The woman smiled and I smiled back before walking into the laundry room and dumping the clothes into two of the washers. I spent the better part of the day there, doing laundry and then hanging out at the pool too. It was a "blast". I was sitting by the pool with my feet in the water when I saw my dad's car pulling up.

My dad pulled into a parking space before he got out of the car with my uncle and they both made their way over to me by the pool. I couldn't help but notice that they each had grocery bags in their hand and slightly rose an eyebrow.

"Hey, come inside." My dad said and I shrugged and pulled my feet out of the water.

"There is still at least twenty minutes on the drier you know." I commented as I followed him over to our motel room.

"I'll send Sam for it then." He shrugged and set the bags on the dingy little table in our room. "In the meantime I got some stuff for you." I watched with mild interest while he pulled some things out of the bag. I saw bread, peanut butter, jelly, some ham, some cheese, a few bottles of vitamin water, and some chips.

"Wow, um… This is for…?" I trailed off.

"It's for your dinner tonight, Sam and I have a lead on what we are hunting but it is only going to be out at night if we're right about this. So we won't be back till late." He said.

"I can't come with you?" I asked.

"Sorry Camilla." My uncle added. "But we will be out late tonight, and we probably aren't going to be back till like eleven at the earliest, but it will likely be later than that. At the latest it'll be at four in the morning." That time sounded so illegal, it should be on FBI's most wanted. "We would rather you be here where you can sleep." He said and I nodded. I mean, I needed my beauty sleep after all and I can't really imagine it being that much fun having to sit in the car at like two in the morning you know?

"So for dinner I have a choice between a cheese and ham sandwich or a peanut butter and jelly?" I asked and eyed what my dad brought… I mean…. No lettuce? Or tomato? Or like anything else?

"Yup." Dad said. "This was what we ate too. You'll be fine for the night." He patted my head and then moved over while my uncle brought over something much worse. A booklet that looked like some sort of testing thingie. I frowned at it and tried to read the cover but after like two minutes my uncle spoke up instead.

"It's a practice CSAP test for seventh grade, which is what you will be enrolled in for school. This isn't timed, you have all day to finish it." My uncle said and I groaned. "I need to see where you are educationally. I know you don't want to but it is important." He said.

"I know." I groaned. "Doesn't mean I like it." I muttered.

"I know you don't." Sam smiled. "But at least it will give us a month to catch you up in areas that you need to be caught up in. Oh, and I am trying a little experiment with you. So this reading CSAP that I want you to try first is in English, and the next one is in French. I want to see how your score changes." Sam said like it was something super interesting. Sounded boring to me.

"This is torture." I complained.

"You will live." Dad chimed in and I saw him take out some blade, it was kinda long, and he started to sharpen it. "When we come back tonight I want those packets done. All of them. The reading, the writing, the science, and the mathematics. Then the French one too." He pointed at me with the end of his knife and I rolled my eyes.

"Yes Sir." I mocked saluted him and he frowned.

"That's weird." He muttered and I rolled my eyes. This was going to be a long night.

I fell asleep after I spent _hours_ slaving over those stupid packets. My uncle is lucky I didn't decide to throw them in the pool or burn them as offerings to my mother. They took way too damn long to finish and honestly I didn't really get the point of all of it. Regardless of how annoying it was I did what they ask and finished all of the packets before promptly passing out at like nine at night.

My dream started out fairly normal. I was at a mall and looking through the Winter collection for clothing. The deep greens and blacks were sort of popping out and I saw some really cute snow boots. When I was walking over there I saw a woman sitting on a little footrest, and she was beautiful. Her hair was blonde and curled to perfection and she was wearing the cutest pink dress, with a long black coat, and matching calf length heeled boots. I was sort of drawn to her although her back was to me.

"It's not safe here." She said and her voice sounded like silk.

"What?" I asked.

"You are in danger my child." She turned her head a little and I saw her eyes change from green, to blue, and back to green. I felt a little frozen in place. Was she… I never saw her before and is this what she looked like?

"I can look however it suits me," she said, almost as if she was reading my mind. "Little Camilla. I'm sorry, but you will have a rough go at things for awhile. Winchester blood is strong, and resilient. I hope it will be enough to get you through." She stood up then and started to walk away, and I tried to follow her but my feet were frozen in place.

"M-Mom?" I asked, and she stopped for a brief second and then continued to walk.

"I think you'll make it." Was all she said. She was vanishing in a sea of people, and all that was left was the faint scent of roses and peaches. I woke up with a start when the door to the room suddenly slammed. I sat up in my bed and saw my dad and uncle walking in, seeming a little stressed out and grim. I noticed the bandage on my dad's forearm and the specks of blood on his shirt.

"What happened to you?!" I shouted and looked at him.

"Doesn't matter." He grumbled. "We don't have time to focus on that."

"What do you mean there isn't time. You're hurt!" I shouted and walked over to him. Not even glancing on the clock.

"Will you quiet down?!" Dad snapped, although a little quieter than I was being. "It is well passed midnight."

"Will you tell me what is going on with you?" I asked, a little quieter, while I sat back down on the bed with my arms crossed.

"Change of plans. You are going to stay with a friend of ours." He gruffed.

"What?! No!" I protested and unintentionally got loud again. I ignored him putting his finger to his lips as a way of trying to tell me to be quiet. "Why?!" I demanded while my uncle was checking the windows and walked outside to make a phone call.

"Because we are hunting a very dangerous vampire and it's not gonna be pretty darlin'." Dad retorted. "We are going to have our friend Bobby come get you, and you're going to stay with him in South Dakota."

"Gross!" I whined. "What is there to do in South Dakota? I don't want to go!" I stomped my foot in protest.

"Well you don't have a choice Princess!" Dean shouted. His patience seemed to run thin when he started matching my volume. "It is too dangerous for you to be here! I am not going to risk it and that is the end of this discussion!"

"But-!" I tried to argue.

"I said it was the end of the discussion! That means that what I say is final!" Dad snapped.

"Whatever you're dealing with I can help!" I argued.

"We are up against a nest of Vampires, and most of them are freshly turned with no idea what is going on. It is too dangerous!" Dad argued back.

"You're not giving me enough credit! I can fight!" I snapped. "I'm a fighter, and I was born to fight monsters. I can do this! I can stake a vampire!" I argued.

"You don't stake them Camilla! You have to chop off a head and do you know how hard that is? You wouldn't have the strength to lop off a head!" Dad shouted back at me.

"Fine! You win! I won't come with you on the hunt, I'll stay here and bar the door and hole up here and do research! Just please don't send me away!" I cried, tears welling up in my eyes. I felt like they were just going to drop me and run… "Please… I don't want to be sent away..."

"Camilla..." My dad sighed. "Sweetheart we are not sending you away forever. I want you to be safe, and we will come back for you. I promise that we will come and get you Sweetheart." He tried to calm down.

"Then why does it sound like you won't? Please, just let me stay here. I know a few tricks to hide my scent, I'll stay quiet and I won't bother you again about leaving the motel room. Just please let me stay…" I begged.

"No can do Princess." Dad pulled me back into a seating position on the bed and just sort of wrapped me up in his arms. "I am your dad here, and I need to keep my baby girl safe. You aren't safe here darlin'." He explained as he patted my head.

"I can do more than what you think…" I tried to bargain as I put more fight in my voice, but it sounded pretty pathetic. "My knife can kill anything. _Anything,_ anything. I don't even have to lop off a head. One good throw of it and whatever comes through that door is dead. Except humans. Please, Dad. Please?"

"Princess..." He just sort of hugged me tighter. "That knife is handy but you have to aim well or get real close to cut them. All it takes is a single drop of blood and you're turned, or they will drain you before you even get the chance. They are strong, and they are fast. Sam and I can't leave, because this is what we do. We have to save people and we have to stop these monsters." Dad said.

"I want to stay with you..." I sniffled and saw my uncle come back through the door after hanging up his phone. He looked a little pained when he looked at me and my tear streaked face.

"Bobby said he'll be here in twenty hours… So that means we need to have Camilla ready to go at ten tomorrow night. He will try to be here sooner if he can but it's a drive from Sioux Falls to New York." Uncle Sam spoke as gently as he could while he walked over to us and sat down on my other side.

"I don't want to go..." I whimpered.

"We will see you in a few days tops." Dad said while he patted my head. "Bobby is like a father to us, and he's a good guy. He will keep you safe." He tried to comfort me and I merely shook my head.

"He doesn't know me… What if he thinks I'm a monster or decides that I… That I..." I trailed off.

"Bobby isn't going to hurt you." Sam reassured me. "Family means a lot to him and he is family to us. So he's also going to be family to you. Bobby is a seasoned hunter and he'll be able to protect you in our absence. He'll even be able to tell you all about all sorts of monsters too." Uncle Sam patted my shoulder and I burrowed deeper into my dad's shirt.

"This is going to be what is best for you. This is what matters most." Dad said as he patted my head again. I cried into his chest and at some point I must have cried myself to sleep. The next thing I remember was waking up in the morning laying on the bed with my dad laying at my side. Sam wasn't anywhere to be found. I sniffed and moved myself up into a seated position and pulled my knees up to my chest. I felt my dad stirring next to me.

"Hey Princess..." He said softly and brushed a few fingers through my knotted up hair. "You okay?" He asked.

"No." I spoke quietly.

"I promise you are not going to be gone for long. We will be down in South Dakota before you know it." He said. "You can even ask Bobby to take you shopping while you're there, or maybe he'll show you around the scrap yard."

"Double gross." I muttered into my knees.

"Princess…" My dad sighed. "I need you to try and be strong for me okay? It is important that you're safe. You're too young to go fighting vampires, but tell you what, when I get back to you I'm going to show you how to shoot different types of guns. You can go on runs with Sam to increase your endurance, and I'll even be your punching bag while you learn how to hit." He said.

"I know how to hit and I have good endurance." I grumbled.

"Do you tuck your thumb in?" Dad asked.

"No you idiot." I grumbled. "I'm not trying to break my thumb." I said and my dad started to laugh.

"Good." He smiled at me but I could hardly return it. "Sam and I need to make some preparations for tonight, so I need you to stay here. And do whatever you need to cover your scent." He said and I rolled my eyes.

"Fine… Then I'll need your shirt." I said.

"Why my shirt?" Dad asked.

"Because you have a human scent." I rolled my eyes. I felt like I was explaining this whole thing to a toddler. "I need your shirt so that I'll smell like you, not me." I said.

"Yea.. That's a bad idea. The vampire could have Sam's and my scent by now and I don't want it coming after you because it was tracking me down." Dad said and I sighed. He put his arm around my shoulders in a vain attempt to comfort me.

"Whatever." I shrugged off his arm. "When will Bobby be here?" I asked.

"Probably sometime between nine and ten tonight." Dad said and I nodded. _Great_ …

I spent the whole day practically curled up in bed, and that was even before my dad and uncle had left to go hunt at some night club. I sorta refused to talk to them much, and it felt warranted considering they were exiling me to South Dakota… I didn't want to go there, and I didn't think I was going to feel safe there either. I don't know this Bobby character and even if Dad and Uncle Sam say he's okay, I couldn't help but have a sinking feeling in my stomach. That dream didn't help either... I felt safe with them and that's where I wanted to be. I even considered calling Mattie, but ultimately I was reluctant to do so… Somehow I felt like I was going to get the " _I told you so"_ lecture and I was _so_ not in the mood.

My train of thought was interrupted by the door suddenly getting slammed open. I immediately sat up and reached under my pillow and felt my fingers grip around the handle of my knife. I whipped the blade out and pointed it at the intruder and frowned when I realized it was only my uncle. My frown deepened a little and my brow furrowed when I saw him rip the mattress from the bed frame and press it up against the window. My eyes briefly scanned the room and I didn't see any one who was trying to break through the windows… Then I felt my face pale, because I didn't see my dad here either.

"Sammy?" My voice shook. "Where is my dad?" I got off of the bed and my limbs felt like ice. Where was he? Was he hurt? Was he dead? Oh my gods… If he was dead and I was such a little brat today. I didn't even say bye to him or my uncle when they were leaving. Oh gods… Oh gods… I felt the tears welling up again. I started hearing my heart pound in my ears and my chest tightening around a bubble building in my lungs, the next thing I knew I couldn't breath and the tears fell.

"Hey.. Hey..." Uncle Sam put his hands on my shoulders and made me look up at him. His jaw was tight and he was visibly stressed. I could feel it rolling off of him in waves. He was scared. _That_ certainly didn't help. "Your dad is going to be just fine. We ran into an issue but he'll be here any minute. Now I need you to help me move the mattress Camilla." He spoke slowly to me. "I need them against all the windows here okay? Can you do that?" He asked and I nodded my head numbly.

I spent the next like forty minutes with my uncle alone in the hotel room. In that time, we were moving the mattresses up against the walls that had windows. At some point he put me in the bathroom and made me sit in the bathtub. He was going on about how I would be safest tucked away and out of sight in case someone came barreling in. I hardly heard a word because I could hear my heart beating in my ears. Where was my dad… Why wasn't he here with us? Why won't Uncle Sammy tell me where he is?

"There you are!" My uncle shouted and I felt myself spring up from the bathtub as the door opened and closed to our room. I tiptoed over to the bathroom door and peeked out seeing my dad walking over to the table.

"Yeah sorry. I stopped for a slice." My dad said as he patted his stomach and I wobbled out of the bathroom and immediately hugged him. I felt him return the hug almost immediately. He was getting better at this whole hugging thing. For the first time in the last hour I felt like I could sort of breathe again.

"Nice move you pulled back there, Dean, running right at the weapons." Sam deadpanned and I frowned.

"What?!" I snapped. My head began to pound again in a different sense. What the hell was going on?!

"What can I say? I'm a badass." My dad shrugged and I hit his chest.

"The hell you are! What the hell were you thinking?! What weapons?!" He sort of shrugged off my questions.

"You're uncle is exaggerating, I had everything under control." I saw Uncle Sam start to protest but Dad cut him a look. _Yeah_ , I thought sarcastically, _because that's not a suspicious adult thing at all_. The tension in the room died a little as Dad starting to half change the topic. "So I guess Gordon is out of jail." Dad said, and Sam frowned. _Who?_ How many people do I have to keep up with now? What is this a game of trivia? I mean really, is the category " _Who hates the Winchesters"_? How many people can these two know? Living out of a car can't be good for building friendships. And Uncle Puppy says _I_ have to build social skills...

"Yea… I guess so." My uncle frowned and I just looked at the two of them when they walked off towards the other side of the room. Where they tried to do that adult thing that never works. You know, when they are trying, and _failing_ , to talk in whispers. "You know, how the hell did he know where to find us?" My uncle asked. There was a slight pause and I saw my dad's face pale and suddenly twist in anger.

"That bitch!" My dad ripped his phone from his pocket and dialed some number. "Hi Bela," he started and I frowned. Oh no… "Question for you. When you called me yesterday, it wasn't to thank me for saving your ass, was it?" He paused to hear her talk and then his face turned red. I could feel how pissed he was from where I was standing and I mentally prayed for Bela. She would need it.

"Excuse me?" Dad asked before his voice began to raise. "I don't know, maybe pick up the phone and tell us that a raging psychopath was dropping by! I mean for fucks sake Bela! He tried to kill us, and did you even consider that my daughter was here?! That you were putting my daughter's life in danger when you told him where we were?!" He yelled into the phone and I sort of tried to remember how to breathe. "There were two of them. Two. I swear to god that if we make it out of this alive, the first thing I'm gonna do is kill you." He paused again. "Listen to my voice and tell me I'm joking." He gritted out before snapping his phone shut and tossing it aside.

My dad stalked over to his duffle and pulled out more weapons and what looked like a sharpening stone of some sort. My uncle followed suit and the tension only felt like it was raising more and more as I watched in a bit of a muted state while my dad and uncle sharpened and cleaned their weapons. It was like they were going to war all the sudden.

"There's still a vampire out there." My uncle reminded him. Always like Uncle Sammy to sort of try and break through the tense silence with my dad. Brave little puppy.

"Yea well first things first." My dad started.

"Gordon." My uncle sounded almost emotionless.

"Yea, well before that even we need to call Bobby again. Tell him to kick it into high gear and get here now. I need Camilla out of this damn state by midnight." Dad said and I swallowed nervously. I didn't dare even try to argue now.

"Who… Who is Gordon?" I asked in a soft voice.

"He is no one to concern yourself with." My dad said as he stood up and walked over to me. "Sam and I… Well we are going to take care of this situation. Bobby is going to get you the hell outta dodge. It'll be easier for us to focus when you're not in danger." He said and I nodded.

"I know..." I said as Sam picked up his phone and dialed someone. I felt tears well up in my eyes as I looked at my dad. Sam walked to the bathroom to talk to who I assume was Bobby and I geared myself up to talk to my dad. I wanted to say I was sorry… I was so sorry for being such a pain in the ass and that I was gonna get stronger so that they could rely on me. Before I could though his phone started to ring and he angrily answered his phone.

"What?!" He yelled into the phone but then his face calmed down.

"You're a hundred miles away, how the hell did you..." My dad trailed off looking confused. "Well? What do you know?" He asked and I saw his face harden.

"Did she find something helpful?" I asked without thinking. My dad glanced at me for a second and nodded.

"Thanks." He said and then paused for another moment while Bela said something to him. After a moment he snapped the phone closed.

"Well? What did she find?" I asked and my dad walked past me and knocked on the bathroom door where Sam was before answering me.

"She found Gordon's exact location." Dad said while Sam came back out of the bathroom closing his own phone.

"Helpful." I nodded.

"Ok, we are going to go get him. You stay here. Hole up in the bathroom. Stay hidden, and if anything happens you fight and scream like hell." My dad said.

"Bobby shouldn't be too terribly far out." My uncle started and looked at my dad. "I told him things were getting more intense and he said he'll cut the rest of his drive in half." My uncle finished and my dad nodded in what I assume was approval.

"Crazy old man." My dad snickered.

"Ready?" Sam confirmed.

"Whenever you are." Dad replied. I gave them both a nod and I stuck myself in the bathroom while they both bolted out the door. I clutched my knife to my chest and frowned a little bit. If Gordon was human this thing wouldn't even work would it? I frowned and carefully got to my feet and stepped out of the bathtub and poked my head out of the door. I eyed my dad's duffel and walked over to it quietly and started to shift through the ugly thing. Maybe he had a spare knife in here I could use if someone did come barreling in. My hands eventually found a spare knife that looked _extra_ deadly and sharp. I nodded in approval while glancing over the item in question. I moved myself back to my spot and minutes of high anxiety passed… then I finally got my breathing under control and calmed down. I carefully moved back out of the bathroom, realizing it had a window and I moved my back against the wall.

I quietly walked over to the mirror over the dresser in the hotel room and turned on the lamp beside it. I glanced at myself in the mirror and grimaced at my reflection. I mean I had raccoon eyes and I was gonna break out from all the stress. I sighed and looked at the mirror when something struck me has odd. Staring harder I started to notice that it looked like the motel door was ajar. _When did..._ Suddenly, something sharp stabbed down at my- no. _Bit_ down on my neck and I let out a loud scream in pain. I swung the hand with the knife back and stabbed _something_ and tried to wiggle my way out. I managed to slip out hearing a low growl and felt something grip at my hair.

I screamed again and instinctively tried to reach up and claw at the hand. I felt a fist connect with my temple, _hard_ and my vision began to fade a bit while I struggled to free myself from the iron grip. Suddenly I felt myself fly across the room and slam head first into the wall near where one of the mattress were and I crumbled to the ground. My vision got blurry and black dots danced around my line of sight. Suddenly the lights were too bright and my head was pounding. My body felt instantly drained and weak and as much as I tried to stand up, or even push myself into a seated position, my body just wouldn't listen to me. A blurred figure approached me and I tried to force any part of my body to respond but all I could feel was the hot liquid rolling down my neck. I stayed laid on my side and my eyes drifted shut.

 **Author's** **Note:** **Hope ya'll enjoyed! See you in two weeks!**

 **WeylandCorp4: Glad you enjoyed it! We wanted to make that chapter extra long for ya'll. Thanks for being patient! As for if we are going to follow every episode or slip around: Both. We plan on going episode for episode for the rest of Season 3 for the most part, since it's a shorter season and is ripe with many opportunities for character development. In future seasons, we will probably skip an episode or two due to trying to keep the plot moving and because they are larger seasons.**

 ** _Question_ : If you guys wanted to have Camilla meet any other fandom in a spin off cross-over, who would you choose?**

 ** _Trivia_ : Her name would actually be Camilla Aframian because of the alias John used, however when she was given a legal name it was picked by a nurse at the hospital, hence "Camilla Hale".**


	13. Chapter 12

**Author's Note :**

 **Hey everyone! We hope that you like part two of Fresh Blood and we look forward to continuing with our story while trying to stay on a more consistent upload time. Not gonna lie, we almost did an April fools chapter but honestly didn't have the time to get one made before having to upload. Maybe next year. Without further ado, please enjoy the chapter and we love to hear from you all so do not hesitate to leave reviews with comments, questions, or concerns!**

 **\- A & J**

"Fresh Blood Part 2"

 _Point of View Shift - Sam and Dean_

Dean and Sam crept down the steps of the stairs and they saw the Vampire they encountered earlier on his knees in front of two bodies. They looked to be women who were shackled from the ceiling with their heads removed and discarded on the floor. It was a bit of an odd sight but they had learned from a young age not to act surprised at such things. It could have been the Vampire acting vulnerable to attack them when they least expected it. So they continued their approach of the creature keeping their weapons trained on it's back. Dean carefully slid a knife from the table and motioned for Sam to go in at a different angle as he crept silently towards the vampire. Dean raised the blade above his head ready to swing down and decapitate the monster while it was still on it's knees.

"Go ahead." The monster's voice was shaky but he didn't turn to even look at the brothers. The sound of his voice caused the two of them to stop in their tracks. "Do it. Kill me." He growled out. Sam glanced over at Dean and they shared a look. Something about all of this was weird. Gordon should have been here according to the spirits. Maybe he killed the girls and went out hunting for the vampire?

"What happened here?" Sam asked as he kept his gun trained on the vampire.

"Gordon Walker." The vampire growled between clenched teeth and turned his head slightly to glance in the direction that Sam was in. "I never should have brought a hunter here." The vampire said as he stood up from the ground, and Dean moved closer to Sam and held the knife tighter. When the monster turned to fully face the boys his cheeks were wet from tears and his eyes had no life to them. There was no fight unlike earlier when he was outside Spider. "Never… I just-I just wanted some kind of revenge. Stupid! Exposing him to my family."

"Oh yeah," Dean glared at the vampire. "You're such a family man." He said sarcastically as he glanced at the beheaded women. The ones that this monster changed without them even knowing what they were getting into. The women that he stole and murdered. It made Dean sick to his stomach thinking of the lives that he had stolen, and how scared they probably were not to mention confused. The vampire stared down Dean for a moment after what he said before glancing away.

"You don't understand." He started.

"I don't want to understand, you son of a-." Dean started angrily.

"I was desperate. You ever felt desperate?" The vampire asked as he and Dean circled one another and Sam slowly walked to the bodies of the women to look at their necks. "I've lost everyone I ever loved. I'm staring down eternity alone. Can you think of a worse hell?" The monster asked.

"Well, there's hell." Dean quipped.

"I wasn't thinking. I just, I didn't care anymore. Do you know it's like when you just don't give a damn? It's like…" The vampire paused. The vampire got closer to Dean. "it's like being dead already. So just go ahead. Do it." The monster said as he glanced down at the knife in Dean's hand. Dean started to move, to kill him, but before he could Sam called out.

"Dean!" Sam shouted and his brother took his eyes off of the monster for a moment to look at Sam. "Head wasn't cut off, it was ripped off. With someone's bare hands." Sam said and then looked at the vampire. "Dixon, what did you do to Gordon?" He asked. Dean's eyes went wide and he stared at the vampire who looked at the ground.

"I wanted some kind of revenge," he repeated. "What's worse than becoming the thing you hate most? He was responsible for the deaths of so many of my kind..." The vampire said.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Dean shouted. He was angry before but now he was livid. "You made one of the most dangerous hunters in the world into a vampire. He'll be stronger than he was before!" Dean shook his head. Great. As if this situation couldn't have gotten any worse already.

"Where is he?" Sam asked calmly, always able to remain the calmest of the two of them. Dixon shook his head again.

"He broke out of his chains and killed them. After that… Well… I don't know where he went. He was gone when I came back to feed my daughters." Dixon said as he sat down on his knees in front of what was supposed to be his new family, his new daughters. "Just do it. Kill me." He repeated and this time Dean didn't hesitate to swing.

"Guess we know why the spirits wanted us to get the hell out of here." Dean commented as he wiped the blood off of the blade with the vampire's shirt. "I'm going to-" He was interrupted by his phone buzzing in his pocket. He glanced at it and visibly relaxed seeing it was Bobby's number. Good. Then he probably is leaving town with Camilla right now. He flipped the phone open.

"Hey Bobby, thanks for coming to get her. If Camilla is any-" He was cut off.

"Dean? There's no one here and the room is trashed. Blood on the mirror, the walls, and floor." Dean felt the color drain from his face as he looked at Sam. "Whoever was here isn't here anymore. There's not a body but that's not really reassuring." Bobby continued and Dean bolted to his car. He didn't have to tell his brother the urgency of the situation, because Sammy was right behind him.

 _Point of View Shift - Camilla_

Everything felt hazy and my limbs were as heavy as lead when I was pulled from the back seat of a car and all but tossed on the concrete. I groaned when I made contact with the ground and my head felt like it was spinning. I didn't even try to make the motion to get on my feet, and honestly the ground was more comfortable than the virgo I was experiencing. _I should have stayed in the bathroom_. I thought bitterly.

"Get up." The man said when he hauled me to my feet by the arm. I guess this is why my dad and uncle said vampires were serious business. I wish I was in South Dakota right about now. I weakly looked at the man and tried to find the energy to put some charm into my voice, but I already felt like I could pass out again and my hair was stuck to the side of my neck. So gross...

"I'm up..." I groaned. "Maybe next time don't throw a girl onto the sidewalk? A gentleman would at least help keep me up right." I mused, feeling a lot bolder than I actually was.

"You're not a girl." The vampire and former hunter sneered.

"I know I'm still growing but _dang_ , my chest isn't that non-existent." The man ignored my last comment as he dragged me towards a small trailer like house. He dragged me by my arm and opened the door to the trailer quietly and pulled me inside. There was another man in there, looking older than the one who had me, and he was staring out the window. Checking for something. The floor creaked under us and I felt my legs give out and I fell despite the iron grip this man had on me.

"Gordon." The older man breathed and then looked at me. I was too busy staring up at the man called Gordon. Did my dad and uncle find it necessary to warn me that the man that was after them was a damn vampire? If I got out of this alive they were _so_ off my Christmas list. "Why do you… Who is that?" He man asked as he motioned towards me sounding rather confused. Despite how tired I was I couldn't stop myself from gesturing at my neck.

"Hostage. Isn't it obvious grandpa?" I snarked and felt my arm get yanked way harder than it needed to be. I yelped in pain and tried to claw his hand off of me. Gordon, being the ever so kind gentleman that he is, dropped me on the floor as his friend approached us. _Rude_.

"Hostage?" He asked as he approached us. "Are you okay?" He asked, and honestly I wasn't sure if Grandpa was talking about me or his apparent friend. Well before I could even dignify myself with an answer-which was a _hell no_ -Gordon the not-friendly neighborhood vampire answered instead.

"Not even close." Gordon grumbled and his old man friend carefully helped me off the floor and sat me down. I tried to shove at him, or to fight him in some way but he was stronger, although not as forceful as my dad and uncle's enemy was.

"It's okay," The old man started as he tried to soothe me. _Yeah, good luck with that buddy_. He turned and grabbed a first aid kid from a cabinet. He didn't honestly think I was going to let him touch me did he? "What happened to you? I thought that you were dead." He questioned Gordon while he kept his eyes trained on me and got some gauze out of the kit. Gordon seemed to pause for a moment while the old man tried to get me to let him inspect the wound. I sort of kept trying to swing my head away from him but it was only making me feel more lightheaded and at some point Grandpa was able to catch my head and old it there.

"Something happened." Gordon started. _Well no shit,_ I thought to myself. _You charged into my hotel room and beat me up and bit me_! Obviously something happened. But I bit my tongue, because Gordon seemed to have a few screws loose.

"I can tell," Grandpa said as he managed to get me still enough to clean the bite mark. I winced at whatever he was using cause it stung. "What even happened to her? Did you grab her from a vampire?" He asked Gordon and then looked at me. "Did the vampire bleed into your mouth or onto your neck?" He asked suddenly very serious and I shook my head.

"Nope. That leech," I glared at Gordon, "Didn't bleed on me. Although he did toss me around like a ragdoll." I grumbled and Grandpa looked sympathetic.

"We'll get you to a hospital soon kiddo." Grandpa reassured me but I shook my head. First, hospitals were a terrible idea for various reasons when you're on the run from child services, and second, I doubt his vampire friend was letting me just leave...

"I was turned." Gordon started and the old man suddenly stopped midway into wrapping gauze on my neck. He looked back at Gordon and I felt my brow furrow. Was he not always a vampire? Oh… Maybe that's why my dad and uncle never warned me about it, because this change must have been recent… Huh. Guess they're on my Christmas list again. "And we aren't taking her to a hospital."

"Gordon… I'm sorry but you know what this means." The old man squared his shoulders after he finished wrapping my neck. I looked at the two men curiously. What? Was he going to feed me to this psycho now?

"You have to kill me." Gordon walked over and put his hands on the old man's shoulders. _Oh. Well if he wants to die I'm sure my dad will do it if Grandpa here doesn't want to_. "But not yet." The old man looked confused and I glanced around, maybe I could get out the door…

"What do you mean?" The old man asked.

"You have to let me do one last thing first." Gordon said. "You need to let me kill Sam Winchester." He said and the old man shook his head.

"Gordon..." He started.

"It is the only… the only thing good to come out of this nightmare." Gordon said and I felt myself tense up more. I needed to get out of here and I needed to find my dad and uncle.

"I can't let you walk out of here." The old man persisted. "You've already hurt someone. Look at that little girl. You've taken her and you've hurt her Gordon. A little girl." He motioned to me and I tensed up even more seeing Gordon look at me. Oh gods… He looked hungry. I squirmed in my chair and he refocused his gaze on the old man. "One that you're refusing to let me take to the hospital."

"She smells different." Gordon argued. "She might look like a child but she's not one. She doesn't smell like you do. Like how any human in this town smells." He said and the old man glanced back at me.

"I don't know what he's going on about." I whispered. I made a circling motion near my temple and mouthed _crazy_ while nodding my head in Gordon's direction.

"She was in the hotel room that smelt like Dean and Sam. I initially only was following her scent when I went there but then I noticed it… It smelt like them too. I don't know why they have a little girl in there, maybe she has something to do with Sam." Gordon said and the old man looked back at me.

"Be honest, do you know the Winchester brothers?" He asked. I hesitated for a moment before nodding my head.

"Dean… He's my dad, but um, we just sort of met each other." I tried to explain and felt myself grow more anxious under their gaze. "I was put up for adoption by my Grandpa John, because I guess Dean was barely graduating high school when I was born." I said. Grandpa seemed satisfied with that answer and looked back at his friend.

"Regardless… You're still losing control Gordon." The old man looked back at him. "I can't let you leave here, you have to know that." He was trying to be sympathetic and I continued to sort of glance around. There was a smaller knife on the table and I slid it down into my lap and carefully concealed it under my shirt.

"Listen to me." Gordon insisted. "There is nothing more important. Please…" Gordon sighed and turned and looked at a crucifix that was hanging on the wall. "I can do one last good thing for the world." I saw the old man quietly come back towards the table and he moved his finger in front of his mouth while he made eye contact. I sort of nodded and watched as he picked up his machete quietly.

"Yeah. I hear you. You know, Gordon, you're right. One last good thing." The man said as he approached Gordon again but this time he was armed. I squirmed in my seat a little while I watched. Maybe this would be for the better, and he would take me back to the hotel I was at and I could go home. Or if he did take me to the hospital I would simply charm a nurse into putting me on the ground floor and I could slip away and meet up with Dad. I held my breath while I watched Grandpa get closer to Gordon and felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. Just a little more…

"Ugh!" His body slumped a little and he looked up at Gordon and I screamed when I saw his hand go through the old man's chest. I jumped from my chair as he whispered an apology to what might have been his friend at one point and I sprinted to the door. I just barely grazed the handle when I felt him pull me back with a vice grip.

"Let go of me!" I screamed and pulled the small knife from my shirt and tried to stab him with it. But his reflexes were fast and he easily knocked it away and grabbed me and started to drag me deeper into the trailer. I kicked at him and screamed louder until he looped his arm around my neck.

"You won't be going anywhere." Gordon said as he tightened his hold. "You see if you're the older Winchester's daughter then I know he'll be coming for you." I gasped for air and tried to pry his arm off of me but my struggling wasn't getting me anywhere. I knew better than to bite at him unless I wanted to become a vampire too. My vision started to get spotty and I felt my movements slow as my consciousness faded more.

"Go..." I gasped, "To Hades!" I spat out breathlessly at him.

"Don't worry, I'm going to wake you up when it's time to have a little chat." He said as my world went dark.

 _Point of View Shift - Sam and Dean_

Dean slammed the hotel door open and stalked in with Bobby not far behind him. He ran his fingers through his hair and glanced around the room. How could he have let this happen? _He_ was supposed to protect his daughter and he couldn't even do that right. Dean threw his jacket down on the bed and walked over to his brother who was pouring over the maps he got from the store.

"We checked three dozen hotels, empty buildings, and various warehouses. Nothing. Not a god damn trace of that son of a bitch." Dean growled out.

"It's a big city, and I've found nothing useful here." Sam sighed while leaning back in his chair and running his fingers through his hair.

"How would have Gordon even known to go after your… daughter?" Bobby threw a look at Dean. "I didn't even know about her, and it seems far fetched that he would immediately target a little girl he didn't know in a town this size. He could have taken anyone, or stayed at your hotel and waited for you there. So why take her and run?" Bobby looked at the two brothers who visibly paled.

"Yeah, uh, about that." Dean rubbed the back of his neck. Trying to think of how to explain the situation that he had found himself in. "Camilla is… kinda a special kid." Dean said and Bobby rose an eyebrow and motioned at Sam.

"Like that kind of special?" He asked.

"Not directly, but kind of yes." Sam explained and looked over at his brother. "She's a good kid and she would never hurt a human. In fact the type of weapon she has wouldn't allow her hurt a human anyways. Camilla is complex, and really understanding how she's different kinda requires an open mind." He finished while looking over at Bobby.

"Well out with it." Bobby motioned for the brothers to continue.

"Camilla was born from a fling I had in my late teens." Dean shrugged. "I didn't believe it at first when she found me but Camilla isn't… Exactly the most… um… human." Dean tried to explain but sort of frowned. He wasn't really explaining this whole thing well.

"Come again?"

"Camilla… She was sort of born from a Pagan Goddess." Dean continued.

"Come again?" Bobby repeated.

"She's a daughter of Aphrodite." Sam explained. "She has abilities that can influence people to do things she wants. We've seen it work, it just doesn't work on us apparently."

"Idjit." Bobby muttered under his breath. "So, what's this gotta do with how Gordon found her?" Bobby asked while managing to keep a level head about the whole ordeal.

"She didn't go into full detail about it, but because of what she is, she exudes a certain kind of smell to monsters and demons and stuff. She says her's isn't powerful but things come after and hunt her down. I guess Gordon caught a whiff of her scent somehow and found her…" Dean trailed off. His baby girl was in the hands of a _very_ dangerous monster. And he needed to find her three hours ago. "To hell with this." Dean said while grabbing his machete, "I'm going after Gordon."

"You got any idea how to find her Sherlock?" Bobby asked. "We've already checked the whole town."

"And we can't go hunting around at night, that's going to give him the drop on us Dean." Sam pointed out.

"Do I look like I care if it's night or not?" Dean asked. "Camilla is in danger, she could be hurt or even dead right now!" Dean shouted at the two of them.

"If you're not careful you're going to get killed!" Sam shouted. "You can't help her if you're dead Dean!"

"Just another a day at the office. It's just a massively dangerous day at the office." Dean shrugged and Bobby pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. _Idjits_.

"So you're the guy with nothing to lose now, huh? Oh wait, let me guess. Because, uh, it's because you're already dead, right?" Sam asked.

"If the shoe fits." Dean retorted.

"You know what, man? I'm sick and tired of your kamikaze trip." Sam stood up and walked over to Dean.

"Whoa, whoa, kamikaze? I'm more like a ninja." Dean smirked a little at his joke and Sam shook his head. Bobby sighed and walked over to the brothers to intervene with their little argument.

"That's not funny." Sam glared at his brother.

"It's a little funny." Dean started but Bobby interrupted.

"You two need to knock it off! Bickering isn't getting us anywhere!" Bobby shouted at the two boys while moving between the two of them.

"Exactly," Dean said. "It isn't getting us anywhere so I'm going after Gordon. I'm not waiting around for him to drop my daughter's dead body at the door like damn cat." Dean huffed.

"You need to calm down!" Bobby shouted. "You and your rash decisions are going to get us killed! What we need to do is make sure he can't come back here to be shooting fish in a barrel and we need to wait some time out. Gordon's patient. Might be more impatient now, but still, patient. He took her for a reason. He's going to be in contact, and we need to be ready. He's smart. And if we don't want Camilla hurt, then we have to play by his rules." As much as Dean hated to admit it- Bobby was right. As always.

"Fine." He growled and began stalking around the room again, pacing. He hated to wait. Minutes turned to an hour while Sam was boarding up the windows with more mattresses and Bobby was sharpening a machete. "Imma get you back baby girl." Dean grumbled under his breath. "I'm coming."

At that his cell phone started ringing. He picked it up and held it to his ear.

"Hello?" He answered sternly.

"Dean." Gordon said on the phone and Dean's jaw clenched. "I went by your old motel room, your scents faded and I can't smell you now."

"Where the hell are you Gordon." Dean spat.

"Factory on riverside off of the turnpike." Gordon answered simply. "I suggest you get here soon. I have someone here that you'll want to talk to." There was a slight static over the phone and Dean heard a light gasp.

"Dad…" He heard weakly over the line.

"Hey Princess. Are you okay?" Dean asked, concern marred his features and Sam and Bobby moved closer to the phone.

"I'm alive…" She huffed. She still had fight left in her. "And I've endured worse… Not that I can think of any right now…" She sighed. "Although maybe the bowl cut I got when I was a kid compares." She chuckled. Dean held back his sigh of relief, and she seemed mostly okay.

"Gordon if you do anything to her…" He threatened.

"Be here in 20 minutes." He paused. "Bye Dean."

"Gordon! Don't do this. She's a little girl, she's twelve. She has nothing to do with what you got with us."

"Wrong Dean. You know that's not true. Your daughter isn't human. I can smell it, and the scent is getting stronger." He replied. He oddly sounded calm. Like the psychopath he is.

"She's innocent! She has never hurt a single person." Dean said, and he took a breath to try and calm down. "You're still a hunter! Come to your damn senses! Just let her go!" He pleaded.

"Wrong again. I'm a monster." _Click_.

"God dammit!" Dead shouted, throwing his phone into a mattress. "Let's go." He grabbed the colt and bolted out the door with Sam and Bobby following his tail. He hopped into the Impala and they headed to the warehouse Gordon described. His heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest and when he glanced down at the clock he relaxed a little seeing that he was able to drive here within twelve minutes.

"Be on your guard." Bobby warned while he got out of the car with his machete at his side. "Gordon is unraveling more and more. There's no telling what he is going to do, or what he might have done already." Bobby looked over at Dean who tensed up as he got out of the car. Bobby didn't say it but… He might have already killed or injured Camilla. "The priority is to kill Gordon and get Camilla out of here in one piece."

"I swear to God, if that son of a bitch hurt my baby I'm going to do worse than kill him." Dean growled out.

"Come on," Sam said as he walked towards the warehouse. "I don't want to waste anymore time out here. We need to get Camilla out of there now." The three hunters stalked quietly into the warehouse. Dean took the lead with the colt pointed out, while Sam followed behind him with his machete, and Bobby took the rear. They walked past workshops and various random shelves filled with old tools or supplies. Dean glanced around when he heard a muffled whimper. His head snapped to the direction and he almost dropped his gun from the shock.

Sam rushed forward first and Dean was merely seconds behind. Camilla was gagged and tied to some water pipes. Her hair was matted and had blood staining chucks of the blonde. There was a nasty looking bite wound on her neck and her skin was pale. Some gauze was hanging off of her neck like it was either unraveled or loosely wrapped to begin with. What got Dean the most was how she hardly even reacted when he rushed to her side, it was almost like she didn't even acknowledge that he was there.

"Hey baby girl," Dean tucked away the colt in his pants as he kneeled at her side. Quickly he started to unbind her hands. Sam ran his fingers over her hair and pulled off the gag. "We got you Princess, we got you." Dean tried to reassure her. A small sound escaped her lips and she let out a sigh.

"Come on, we need you to get up. Watch your head." Sam helped pull Camilla into a standing position but she almost immediately fell again. Dean quickly adjusted their position and lifted Camilla into his arms. She whimpered at the change of position and he shushed her.

"We're going to get you out of here." Dean reassured her as he carried her out of the archway. "Sam stay close to us. Bobby, I need you to get the car started. She needs a hospital." Bobby nodded his head walked ahead of the two brothers while keeping his head on a swivel. Looking out for Gordon in case the newly turned vampire decided to show up and ambush them out the way out.

"Nooo…." Camilla groaned and her head rolled to the side and she stared up at Dean with bloodshot eyes. "I can't… I can't..." Dean glanced down at her and was about to try and calm her down, but a loud boom resonated from behind him and he spun to see that a metal door had fell between where he and Sam were walking. Effectively cutting his younger brother off from the rest of the pack.

"Sam!" Dean shouted as he set Camilla down on the floor. The girl wobbled as she stood on her feet, and Bobby whipped around to see what was going on.

"Dean!" Sam shouted back while he hit the metal door.

"Dammit Sam!" Dean screamed while kicking the door a few times. He ran his fingers through his hair and kicked at the door one more time for good measure. How _stupid_ to think it was going to be this easy to walk out of there. "Sam be careful!" Dean shouted through the door as Bobby rushed over to them.

"A damn trap." Bobby grumbled. "Shit." He grabbed a pipe and hit at the lock but couldn't get it to budge. Dean walked over and hit it a few times for good measure. He couldn't shoot it off with the colt, because the bullets were much too valuable to waste like that. He cursed and threw the pipe on the floor.

"Bobby, I need you to take the car and get Camilla out of here." Dean said while looking at the older hunter.

"And leave you two here?" Bobby asked and shot Dean a look. "I can't do that. Not with what's at stake here. You and Sam..."

"I know." Dean interrupted. "But right now I need to know that my little girl is going to survive the night. She needs to get to a hospital Bobby." Dean fished out his keys and handed them to the older hunter. "Go."

"Dammit." Bobby grumbled and reached out to take the keys when he was suddenly struck with the pipe. He fell to the ground dazed from the attack and heard a snarl from above him.

A woman with blonde hair jumped down from the rafters and tackled down Dean. Without even thinking he took the colt and shot her in the head. He looked over at Camilla to make sure she was still conscious. Bobby had gotten to her and covered her eyes before Dean open fired. He relaxed a little and helped Bobby get her on her feet. A small sound escaped her again as she was being lifted and Dean's chest tightened. The room was dark so he couldn't say for sure how injured she was except for the fact that her clothes and hair were stained all red.

"Go with Bobby, Princess. I'll see you soon." He said, watching Bobby carry her outside. He then quickly tried finding a way around the warehouse to get to Gordon before he got to Sammy. He showed up just in time to see Sam saw off Gorgon's head as it hit the ground.

"How is she?" Sam asked, out of breath, and looking at Dean.

"Bobby's taking her to the hospital. Come on, let's clean this up before someone sees and go to meet them. I don't like her being by herself." He replied. His anxiety was getting the better of him and he wanted to beat himself for letting this happen. He should never have left her alone in the motel. Dammit, he should have listened to Bela and got the hell out of dodge.

 **Author's Note:**

 **aaaand Camilia is alive! Currently and not a vampire. Although we briefly considered turning her there would have been no real reason to and we would have had to kill her. We think Gordon's torture and draining was probably a bit better.**

 **WeylandCorp: oh yea, bitten hard because she has tasty blood. Sam and Dean were hunting and Bobby was just like an hour or two away when Gordon showed up for Camilla. But they're all here now so... good?**

 **Guest: we plan to keep this story going at least through Season 5! So still more to come!**

 **Joliet536: we are happy you liked the chapter and we hope to keep up the good work! We love writing this story! As for her meeting someone in the Harry Potter verse she would smack Draco in the mouth so fast! We think Camilla would like potions and try to start up a club on Fashion, the Ins and Outs! As for Sherlock we don't know much about that series so... can't say much there.**

 **2nd Guest: We are so happy that you like Camilla's character and that you're enjoying the story. We love to write it. More details about Camilla's past will be coming out soon with future updates so stay tuned!**

 **Eviline: We are so happy that you love this series so far and we hope to keep up the good work! Camilla is our favorite character that we have ever written and she's a lot of fun to write about. Love her sass. We do look forward to revealing how she will be changing the brother's lives for good and bad. So funny thing, for the _April's Fool_ chapter we were gonna change her into a vampire and have Dean shoot and kill her after she jumps him. Then post the next update the day after and reveal the true ending to this chapter (which is the one that you see now). **

_**Question:**_ **What are you guys most curious to know about Camilla or her backstory?**

 _ **Trivia:**_ **Camilla actually likes film quite a bit (although she would not admit it to Dean... _yet_.). She has a healthy respect for Titanic, but her favorite movie is "The Mummy"**


	14. Chapter 13

**Authors Note:** **Chapter Thirteen! Ahhh! As usual, hope y'all enjoy and if you have any comments, questions or concerns, feel free to contact us.**

 **-A &J**

 **Chapter Thirteen**

"Come as You Are"

 _Point of View Shift - Camilla_

When I started to wake up the first thing that I noticed was how everything hurt. My arms felt like lead, my legs were mush, and it hurt to breathe. Then I heard a faint beeping next to my head and I tried to force my eyes to open. The first few attempts were met with no success but after the fifth try I was able to see, and honestly I sort of regretted it because they burned from the harsh lighting in the room. The room smelt like chemicals and sterilizer which was only adding to the ache behind my eyes and over my forehead. It took me a moment to realize where I was, and when I did my breath came out heavier and quicker. I was in a hospital, which wasn't exactly my favorite place to be.

"Dad?" I croaked out with slight panic. Where was Gordon… if I was here then it meant that we won right? Or… not? Oh gods… he was after my dad and uncle, what if they were gone or left me here? The panic rose higher but it almost evaporated when I felt a familiar, calloused hand grab mine.

"I'm here Princess." He replied. I was able to breath when I heard his voice, because that meant he was alive, and more importantly he didn't leave me here. "How are you feeling?" He asked. When I looked up at him I noticed the dark circles under his eyes and how pale his skin was. His hair was tousled like usual and there was faint bruising on the side of his cheek bone. Over all he didn't look as bad as I felt.

"Everything hurts…" I admitted. My voice sounded cracked, and soft. I sounded weak and almost like I was sick… ugh… I don't wanna imagine how I must look. Hopefully Dad has been sensible enough to comb my hair from time to time. Hospital or not I was not going to go around looking like a little troll.

"I'll get the nurse." Uncle Puppy said from across the room, as he stood up. He looked tired too but overall not as sleep deprived as my dad clearly was.

"Wait, no." I started and saw him stop in his tracks. "Do you have my bag?" I croaked.

"It's out in the car." Dad rang in.

"Please get that instead. I have some stuff in there I need." I tried to explain. Sam hesitated for a moment and then nodded as he left the room. I continued looking around the room and saw an older man sitting by the door, watching us. He wore a old looking baseball cap and he had a shorter beard on his face that was greying from old age. He was wearing flannel, because _why wouldn't he_ , it seems that everyone around here wears flannel all of the time. So he clearly wasn't some sort of nurse, given that his clothes were a little dusty looking, and his posture sort of demanded respect. Then it clicked.

"You must be Bobby…" I tried sitting up to try and introduce myself properly but pain shot through my body and forced me to lay back down. My dad started to fuss a little by moving the pillows and blankets around me, probably trying to form some sort of nest, the weirdo. My weirdo, but a weirdo nonetheless.

"Don't force yourself, Kiddo. You took on a lot." The older man said standing up from his chair. He walked over to where I was laying and gently took my hand and gave it a firm shake. "Yeah, I'm Bobby. Nice to meet you Camilla. Your Dad has told be quite a bit about you these passed few days."

"Few days?" I asked looking over at Dad with slightly widened eyes. No… days… can't be. Last night I was snatched by Gordon… Last night he killed his friend and then he… He was going to hurt me and hurt my family… That had to be last night,

"You've been out for about two and a half days Princess." I sighed hearing that. I haven't showered in three days… Gross. "You lost a lot of blood…" He continued. He sounded almost scared. It was nice to hear that he cared. Honestly it warmed my heart a little. I squeezed his hand to try and assure him I was okay.

"When can we leave?" I asked, feeling anxious to get out of the worst place on earth.

"Well, nothing's broken, we were just waiting for you to wake up after all of the blood transfusions. Your body rejected quite a few of them." Bobby said, sitting back down.

"Blood transfusions huh…" I sighed. "Well at least I'm awake." I said, my gaze shifting over to Dad.

"What's in your bag that you need?" He asked. "If you say make up I swear-"

"Calm down." I cut him off. "You'll see when Uncle Puppy comes back with the bag." I assured him.

"Uncle Puppy?" Bobby asked, sounding half amused, half confused looking over at Dad.

"You talked about me the last few days and you didn't bring up the fact that he's the Good Uncle Puppy?" I questioned, looking up him.

"Didn't exactly come up." He replied with a half-crack of a smile. At that Uncle Puppy came in with my bright pink duffel and set it down beside me. I carefully sat up and propped myself to stay up with the pillows and began rummaging through the bag. Ironically enough, the make up was sitting at the very top and happened to be the first thing I grabbed to move out of the way. I slowly maneuvered my hands around in the bag and took out my Ambrosia and Nectar.

"What's this?" Sam asked, seeming curious as ever. I held up the golden loaf of bread and tore off a small amount and motioned for him to close the door. As he did I began explaining God Stuff.

"This is Ambrosia. Food of the Gods. One micro bite can kill humans, and even Demi-Gods can only have so much of it before they feel sick or burn up from the inside." I said half-jokingly, but meant every word. "It helps restore vitality and almost "cure" my wounds." I explained and popped a small amount into my mouth. Instantly, French Silk Pie tickled my taste buds and immediately felt better. "And this is Nectar." I mentioned and took a few sips. And slowly, I felt more and more like myself. "Same basic principle but in a drink." I sealed the Ambrosia and Nectar back up and put them back in my bag and took out a brush and brushed through my hair, sitting up more; now that I was feeling better.

"Why would you eat or drink something that could kill you?" My Dad asked as he reached down to snatch the bag of Ambrosia from my duffel. Immediately, I smacked his hand away and gave him a slight glare.

"I said if I take too much of it, you dork." I rolled my eyes. "I know how to properly take some and use it without turning my blood into fire or my bones into mush. Not exactly new at this whole Demi-god lifestyle you know?"

"Okay, okay." He yielded, stepping away from the duffel.

There was a knock on the door that sort of startled me from my little back and forth with my dad. My Uncle muttered, "There's a nurse." under his breath as he answered the door. I didn't think much of it and instead looked back at my dad and started questioning on how my hair looked, which he rolled his eyes to.

"Thanks for stopping by, my niece says that she's feeling better and would like to-" Uncle Puppy stopped and I saw his hand grip the door a little tighter. "Um, I'm sorry ma'am but I think you might be at the wrong room." He said and I strained to tilt my head and see who it was.

"My name is Darlene Lucas. Is this not Camilla Hale's room?" I flinched a little hearing her snap at Uncle Puppy. "Move aside." She pushed by Sam and stopped the moment her eyes landed on me. Her ebony, black hair spilled over her shoulder in loose curls, and her green eyes pierced right through me. She didn't wear much makeup, and she didn't need to with her fair complexion and her skin care regiment. She still looked at pretty as I remembered, and like always her outfit was on point. She wore a white blouse that was tucked into a burgundy knee-length skirt and her nude colored heels clicked as she moved into the room. Ms. Lucas' expression softened and she dropped her perfectly white clutch onto the floor. I slightly flushed in embarrassment, thinking what I had done to her.

"Jesus… Look at you." She muttered but I couldn't really tell if it was from astonishment or maybe from sadness because I was in the hospital. She started to walk over but my Dad immediately intercepted her path, staring down at her. My mouth was dried up and I couldn't think of a single thing to say to her. Gods… What do you say to someone that you ran away from? After that person had given you everything she could... "Sir. I need you to step aside." Her tone was immediately sharp again, the softness in her eyes became hard while she looked up at the imposing figure of my Dad. I had to give her props for not shying away or stepping back when standing toe-to-toe with him.

"I don't need to do anything." He snapped back. "Lady, who are you and why do you care?" His look hardened.

"Da-" I started but I couldn't force any words out, and Bobby moved a little closer to my bedside. Neither one of the adults turned and looked at me, and instead continued to stare each other down.

"I am Darlene Lucas, and I practically _raised_ this girl." She glared at my dad. "I've known Camilla since she was two years old, so I think the real question here is _who_ are you and _why_ do you care?"

"I'm Dean Winchester and I'm her Father." He said simply, still staring her down. She scoffed in amazement at him.

"She found you? Odd. After numerous attempts and large investigations, we never could. And considering the last name on her birth certificate was Aframian. How is it possible for you to be her father if your last name is Winchester?" She spat back.

"My dad's name was Aframian, and my parents had my brother and I when they were young and unmarried." My dad lied easily. "So I have my mother's last name not my dads. Nonetheless, she found me."

"Is that so?" Ms. Lucas asked while looking at my dad. "What is the name of your father then? First and last." She challenged and with how many aliases these guys had I sort of worried that maybe he wouldn't be able to come up with an answer.

"Bert Aframian." He said easily. _Wow, way to go dad._ Still Ms. Lucas didn't seem to be fully convinced and she wasn't backing down anytime soon. Her mouth was set into a firm line while she looked at him and I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

"Camilla, is he really your father?" She asked, looking over at me.

"Yeah." I stated meekly, trying not to get in the middle of this. I had forgotten how scary Ms. Lucas can be too...

"Hey sweetheart," My dad started and Ms. Lucas snapped her attention to him.

"To you it is Ms. Lucas." She glared at him. "Call me "sweetheart" again and you will not like what happens next." She threatened. I leaned further into my uncomfortable mattress almost wishing it would swallow me whole right about now.

" _Ms. Lucas_ ," I could hear the smirk in my dad's voice and I wished I could mentally send him a signal that she was small but mighty and he was angring her more and more by the minute. Although maybe he already knew and simply didn't care. "As you can see Camilla is in good hands with her biological and _rightful_ family. This is where she belongs, with my brother and I." My heart stung hearing Dad say that.

I could never say that Ms. Lucas wasn't family. She was more of a mother than any foster mom ever was. She saw me grow up and she practically taught me how to talk, and to read and write aside from school. I didn't know it at the time, but now looking back at it, she sacrificed _so much_ for me. And I'm the brat that ran away to camp without even saying goodbye.

"Are you kidding me?" Lucas shook her head, " _This_ is where she belongs?" She motioned around the room for emphasis. "She is in a hospital bed! After getting serious injuries that almost killed her. She was in a coma for days and had to get multiple blood transfusions! So please enlighten me Mr. Winchester, how is _this_ where she belongs?" I could feel the anger rolling off of her. I saw my dad's shoulders tense up and it looked like he was about to bark back. I didn't want them to fight, and I didn't want them to yell… I felt my eyes starting to blur from unshed tears and I fought the urge to cover my ears. _Stop it..._

"Hey tweedle dee and tweedle dumb," Bobby interrupted and they both snapped their heads in his direction… If looks could kill... _Brave Grandpa Bobby._ "Maybe if you're going to have a shouting match on if Camilla is in good hands it shouldn't be in the middle of her hospital room while she is recovering, and two feet away from said shouting adults." He motioned over to me and I could almost feel the shame rolling off of them. "So if you two want to continue this discussion as adults then maybe take it outside?" He suggested and motioned to the door where Uncle Puppy was standing and watching the whole scene unfold.

"Alright." Ms. Lucas took a breath to try and calm herself, since Grandpa Bobby's words seemed to sink in. I could see her mentally counting to ten. It was always a habit of hers. I saw her take a step back, conceding for now and moving away from my dad to pick up the previously dropped handbag. After taking her clutch off the floor she smoothed out her skirt and moved to the door. Ms. Lucas waited for a moment and motioned at my dad to go out the door first. He huffed and squared his shoulders then walked out of the room with Ms. Lucas trailing right behind him, and at that the door closed. You could almost hear a pin drop in the room from how silent it was, and I looked at Sam with a face that must have cried for help. My uncle was immediately moving over to where I was and sat in the chair that my dad was previously occupying.

"Hey, everything's going to be ok. Shh… You're not going anywhere." He stated, almost reading my mind. I held back my frightful tears and hugged him. I was scared. I didn't want to be taken away, and I didn't want to go back into the system. Knowing Ms. Lucas, she wasn't going to just give up, no matter what Dad had to say to her. I had this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that, while I was going to leave the hospital soon, it wasn't going to be in the old, creaky, and junk-food littered car I've grown to love in such a short time.

 _Point of View Shift - Dean Winchester_

Dean followed the woman out of the room, and his blood was still boiling with how she strutted in and acted like she owned the damn place. Tight skirt or not this woman was increasingly getting on his bad side. She had no idea what was out there, or what was best for _his_ daughter, but she felt the need to barge in and start trying to dictate everything. He was all for powerful women but not when it came to someone trying to take his daughter from him. He didn't have to be rocket scientist to know that this is where the conversation was leading.

"Have a seat Mr. Winchester," The woman named Lucas motioned to an armchair as she took a seat in one across from it and pulled out a little notepad from her purse-or handbag-or whatever it was.

"I think I'll stand." He said and she sighed and brushed her hands over her skirt as if trying to smooth out the non-existent wrinkles.

"Mr. Winchester I am Camilla's caseworker and we have been searching for her since she ran away three years ago. I was starting to think that she died or got kidnapped or something awful after days became weeks and months became years." Dean crossed his arms but didn't budge when she spoke. "Being her _biological father_ is not enough to warrant you a suitable guardian to take care of a young girl."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? I'm her dad, and with all respect Ms. Lucas, I am the best person to be raising Camilla." Dean argued and Ms. Lucas shook her head, almost as if the fight and fire from earlier had died out. So what was that in there? Was it all just for show? Act like you care a whole lot and put up a fight in front of a kid? Was it a damn game?

"You are her dad who never came looking for her-" She started.

"I didn't know she existed until she came to find me." Dean tried to defend himself, "My dad was the one who took her to the state and turned her over, but that wasn't me. I wouldn't have ever done that." Dean argued. "Listen..." Dean sighed. "I'm not winning any father of the year awards here, but dammit I'm trying my best. There isn't a manual that goes with this sort of thing but I want my daughter in my life. She fought like hell to get here and I'm not letting you take her away."

"Mr. Winchester," Ms. Lucas started, but her voice seemed to soften a little. "I only want what's best for Camilla. However this isn't just something that you decide and that, 'ta-da' over night you're her legal guardian. There is a process for this type of thing and you need to prove that you're a fit father figure for her." She continued.

"So what? I sign some papers saying that I'm her dad and I'm going to take care of her and then we're done?" Dean asked and Ms. Lucas shook her head and once again motioned for him to take a seat. He reluctantly took the seat across from her and braced himself for the news he knew for a fact he wasn't going to like.

"Do you have a current physical address?" She started, scribbling down in her notebook.

"No." He replied.

"Do you have a job?"

"Not a regular one."

"Do you have a plan for her education?"

"Currently working on that."

"Do you know where she has been these last few years?" She asked. Dean could hear the concern in her voice, and knew that the last question was just to calm her nerves.

"Can't say I do. She only found me a couple weeks ago." Dean saw her shoulders slump a little seeing her write down in her pad.

"Well, Mr. Winchester… No judge is going to sign over Camilla to you due to your current standings. I also have to run a background check and see if there is a criminal record. In the meantime you need to find a house with suitable living conditions, and a job with a yearly income. I can convince the judge working on her case to give you a month, max." She continued as she wrote in her little notepad, then closed it. She brought her head up and looked up at Dean with a stern look. "Until then, she needs to come with me."

Dean could feel his face fall into a frown, and his face paled. She was trying to take away his daughter, after she fought like hell to get to him. While Dean may not be the best father in the world- as he will openly admit- he wanted to spend as much time with her until… the end of his year. And no other person, not even this Ms. Lucas, is going to be able to understand Camilla in the way he and Sam have come to understand her.

"You're going to take her?" He asked with a low growl in his voice.

"I have to Mr. Winchester. She's not legally yours. She belongs to the state until she's legally adopted or until she's 18, that's the law."

"You can't take her. She's going to be in more danger if you do."

"Seems like she's in plenty of danger being with you." She quipped. Dean's jaw tightened, thinking about how Camilla came to be in the hospital, trying to think of a clever lie to cover everything up that Ms. Lucas would believe. However, nothing came to mind. Him watching through the room window all the blood transfusions, and then thinking about the long nights he stood up by her bedside, hoping every minute, of every day that she would just wake up and be the sassy little thing she was instead of the quiet, still, pale, almost lifeless thing she became in that bed. Stillness didn't suit her. Death did not suit her...

"You don't understand." He calmly replied. Trying to keep any of the anxiousness out of his voice. He was trying to beat down the voice in the back of his head that reminded him that he was _poison_ and that everyone eventually left him. That he was going to die in a few months.

"Then, by all means, go ahead and explain it. Even from the moment she ran away till now she had never been admitted to the hospital and after one week with you she ends up in here needing _multiple_ transfusions to save her life. I spoke with her doctor and he said that she was practically dried up. Without stacking on the rejections, it was miracle that they were even able to save her. Do you know what happens when there is a reaction to a blood transfusion? When the body rejects the blood?" She asked and Dean's mouth felt dry. "Her blood was attacking the donor blood because her body thought it was an illness or an infection. She broke out into hives and fevers and-"

"I know that!" Dean snapped. "I watched from a tiny window while she was worked over by the doctors! I gave my blood for her!" He argued. "It was the only thing that worked!" He continued, rolling up his sleeve and showing the multiple puncture wounds around the vein area. "I donated two pints, total. As much as I was allowed, and even then I begged for them to take more because I didn't care if I was hurt. I just wanted her to wake up!"

"And I want her to be safe!" Ms. Lucas shouted back. "You think I'm unhappy she found her father? That was all she ever wanted. Camilla used to sit by the window and wait. She would sit there and say _any 'day now, he's going to come, he wouldn't have left the necklace if he wasn't going to come'_ , and I had to look at the heartbreak on her face when years passed and no one was there. When families called me in the middle of the night or during the day and said that they couldn't do it, that they didn't want her. Five times I had to go through that, and couldn't understand why they wouldn't want this sweet, innocent little girl." She tried to calm down but he could hear how her voice was shaking and he could see the moisture in her eyes. "The morning I found she was gone before I could adopt her myself, my heart broke into a million little pieces. All I could think about was finding her. I looked everywhere in the state for her. After one year the police closed the case and wouldn't look for her anymore, and just like that she was another number in a system that vanished. Just another run away that everyone forgot. Well I never did and I was forced to move on and try help other kids like her."

"I wouldn't have moved on..." Dean muttered, and Lucas let out a humorless laugh and ran her fingers through her hair. "Listen… I know I'm a shit show okay? I know that I don't look like much and I live a very weird life style but dammit that is my daughter in there." He sighed. "I'll work on that list you're giving me, but she needs to stay with me. I can't let her leave with you. I am the only one who can protect her." Dean pleaded.

"I can't do that Mr. Winchester. I'll be back to collect her tonight after we have the waiver from the doctor. Have her things ready." She stated as she stood up out of the chair. She hesitated for a moment there looking at him, and her voice softened a little. "Listen, I am not trying to say that you can't see her or that you can't call her, but she cannot stay with you. It's too much of a risk, not only for her health but because you might try and run." She said and looked at him. "Try to run, and you will never get custody. The judge will deem you a kidnapper, parental or not, and the police will be swarmed all over you before you can even leave the county."

Dean hung his head and leaned into his hands, there was absolutely no way that he was going to win this. Not with his record or the lack of stability he had to offer. He heard the clicking of her heels and for a moment thought she was going to walk past him, but instead he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I love that little girl Mr. Winchester, and I want her to be happy too. So I hope that you can pull yourself together and adopt her because she needs her father in her life, but you have to do this the right way, or all you are going to do is hurt her more." Ms. Lucas said, and with that she walked away.

Dean stood beside his daughter in the hospital room but she wouldn't even look at him and her hands shook while she tried to hold onto her duffel. He knew he let her down, much like he seemed to let everyone down, but he didn't want to say goodbye like this. Not with Camilla refusing to look at them and not with only months left to live before he was dragged into the pit.

"Camilla, please. I'll be by to see you soon. We're going to get this figured out and I'll be by to take you home." He spoke to try and comfort her.

"You said that they weren't going to take me… You promised." Camilla's voice sounded smaller and quieter than he ever heard her. It broke his heart into a thousand pieces to hear her like that.

"Camilla…" Sammy chimed in. "We are going to do everything we can to get you back as soon as possible. You have to pick your battles sometimes right?" He asked as she slowly nodded her head. "This isn't a battle we can fight and win."

"I can just run away again." Camilla offered and turned her head to look at the two brothers. "It won't be hard, I mean… I can just charmspeak someone to look the other way or have someone drive me out here. I can meet you somewhere so just tell me where to go." She was pleading and Dean kneeled down and hugged her. He pulled her to his chest and just held her while she shook from the silent tears that were soaking his shirt.

"But then you're father is going to be charged with kidnapping, Camilla." Bobby stated. "Even if you are the one to run away and go to him…" He sighed. "It's just how the law works. Lay low for a little bit okay? While your at the center, no one else is going to take you. We have a month to figure this out and you'll be home _way_ before then." He explained.

Dean could feel Camilla's shoulders drop. He knew she didn't like this, but this is just the way things have to be. He lifted his head to see Ms. Lucas walking over to them in the parking lot and he bowed his head a little to kiss the top of hers.

"I'll see you real soon baby girl." He stated. "I am not going to give up on this, and when it is all sorted out legally then there won't be any hiding, or looking over your shoulder waiting for someone to take you away. Okay?" He felt her nod her head.

"You better come quick." She quipped. "Don't you forget me."

"Never." He smiled and kissed her head again. Guess he was getting better with this whole comforting-father-figure thing.

"Come on Camilla, it's time to go." Ms. Lucas said softly, waiting for her just about five feet away. He watched Camilla give quick hugs to Bobby and Sam, and lift up her duffel and trudge over to her. She looked back at the boys again and tears began spilling onto her cheeks as she quickly went into Ms. Lucas' car.

"Gentleman." She said as a farewell she walked to the driver's seat of the car, and pulled out of the parking lot.

"So, what's the plan?" Sammy chimed from behind Dean, and looking over at Bobby.

"Well, with your FBI record, there isn't going to be a chance for you to get her. Sam, maybe if he weren't linked to you in both cases, not that he has an official record or anything, it just doesn't look good." Bobby said and Dean sort of paced in front of the two of them watching the taillights of the car disappear into the night. Watching her disappear...

"Gah, I can't think!" Dean suddenly shouted. "I'm following them. I need to talk to her one more time." He said as he hastened over to the impala with Sam and Bobby on his heels.

He climbed into the car, and took the same road out as Ms. Lucas, trying to remember which way he had saw her turn. After some time of Sam looking at the map, and guessing they where they would be likely going, Dean went down a back country road and noticed a car on the side of the road. His face paled seeing the car was the same colors as Ms. Lucas, and that is was a wreck.

"Camilla!" He exclaimed, quickly clamoring out of the car and running over to the car in the ditch. There were tire marks all over the side of the road, multiple tracks as if she was run off of it and landed in the ditch. The doors were opened, Camilla's pink duffel in the back seat, the engine smoking, and both of them gone. He smelt the sulfur before he saw it all over the seat and felt his blood run cold. "Sammy! Call Ruby."

 **Author's** **Note:**

 **WeylandCorp4: Aphrodite left her at the motel they were staying at, and John had just gotten there first. And as to why Dean as no memory of Aphrodite, its not that he doesn't remember her, he just doesn't know which woman Aphrodite was that he slept with. And her Demi-God discovery remains hidden until further notice. No spoilings!**

 **Guest: We did know, thank you and there really wasn't a spot to mention it while at the hospital but believe us, he'll learn eventually. Camilla's one of those people that will say something like: "Ohhhh, I thought I told you... Whoops... My bad..." As Dean fumes that he wasn't told a thing.  
**

 **almp15: Well, you know about Mattie, and as for schools we think she's probably attended about 3 different schools at this point. 3 elementary schools and she actually hasn't attended a middle school due to being at camp the last couple years or so. We do have plans for them to meet Mattie, and as for other friends they aren't notable quite yet.**

 **DaniFan3000: We have discussed the amazon situation, and we have plans to potentially go until season 6, but we don't even know how far we are going to take this, but we'll see.**

 _ **Question:**_ **Did you think Ms. Lucas was going to leave Camilla with them?**

 _ **Trivia:**_ **If you guys want more of picture of what she looks like, we imagined her as Sandra Bullock from the movie Practical Magic, and** **this chapter title is named after a Nirvana song, whom is Ms. Lucas' favorite band.**


	15. Chapter 14

**Authors Note: Hey everyone we are super sorry this chapter is a little late things have just been very hectic for us. On the plus side we have survived working 6 day weeks, buying new furniture, and effectively rearranging our entire apartment!**

 **On a more serious note, J and I will be changing our update times to Wednesday nights from this point forward, and honestly it's just to make things easier on us. Our weekends from Friday to Sunday are booked and J almost always works late on Mondays. So Tuesdays are sort of hard to try and get everything together and edited to be posted. So from now on** ** _Wednesdays are the new update days_** **(so the next update will be Wednesday the 22nd).**

 **We hope you enjoy this chapter and we look forward to posting again!**

 **\- A &J**

Chapter Fourteen

"Celebrity Skin"

*~*~* Point of View Shift - Camilla Hale *~*~*

"Oh…" I groaned as I rolled over to get my bearings. Trying to move my body was hard with how it ached and I swear I could hear chains rattling and dragging across the floor. For some reason I couldn't really figure out why I'd be hearing that though... My head felt heavy and my neck felt like couldn't support the weight of it. Regardless, I attempted to sit up so that my face wasn't on the cold and disgusting concrete floor. I felt cold, and I knew for a fact my hair was all sorts of messed up again.

"Camilla? Honey, are you awake?" I heard a familiar voice ask and I cracked my eyes open and saw my caseworker sitting across from where I was laying. Her brown hair was matted with dried blood to the side of her face, and there was bruising along her cheekbone, neck, and shoulder. The rest of the patchy dark colored skin went down and disappeared under her loose and newly stained blouse. Gods… What happened? My head was pounding still and I tried to move one of my hands up to wave off her concern, but the movement was cut short by the rattling of chains and my arm sort of jerking to a stop. I glanced down and saw that there was a iron cuff, which looked really gross by the way, connected to a chain that was bolted to the ground.

"What… What happened?" I asked, struggling to catch a good breath to speak. I felt like the wind was kicked out of me. Haven't felt that since Clarisse knocked me into a tree during practice a few summers ago. I winced at the unpleasant memory, or the pain throughout my whole body. I'm going to go with both.

"I think we got in a car accident." She paused for a minute and pursed her lips in thought. "I… I think we were run off the road… I remember trying to say something to you and then… We were hit, on the passenger side, and I lost control of the car. I don't remember how we got here, I woke up only a few minutes before you did."

"Well that explains why I feel like I got hit by a truck." I grumbled. At that, I became very aware of how I felt as I began coughing from all of the dust I was laying on, and pain seared through my rib cage. I caught a quick breath only to continue coughing, and even breathing hurt.

"Camilla!" Ms. Lucas shouted and I heard more chains rattle when she tried to move closer to where I was, but to no avail. My eyes watered and my coughing fit only seemed to get worse. I could kill for a warm bath, maybe some bandages for my side, and like… a lot of chocolate. A whole mountain of it actually.

"Oh I'm so glad to see that my little house guests are awake." A sickeningly sweet voice chimed and I glanced up as a man practically pranced into the room. He stood about as tall as Dad although with less of the muscular frame. He had blonde hair, like kissed by the sun blonde, and bright blue eyes. If he wasn't a psycho I would say he was laughably handsome with his chiseled, square jaw and broad shoulders, but alas, he had to be a psycho. Ms. Lucas went stiff when he came in, so that was probably a bad sign. As if being called his guests wasn't a bad enough sign, but I could practically feel the malicious intent just rolling off of his creepy smiling little face. "I was starting to wonder if I was going to have wake you myself."

"Listen buddy..." Ms. Lucas started and he turned to face her. I tried to shake my head in her direction, because this whole thing felt super off. Like… If he was human then he was clearly insane, like uber insane. The more likely scenario was that he was some sort of freak monster, because I was still breathing and not like… eaten yet… so he wasn't the run of the mill type of thing. Regardless of my shaking head and mental this is bad signal, Ms. Lucas kept talking. "I don't know what you want, but you need to let us go. People are going to be looking for us very soon. So just let us go okay? You can still get out of this."

"Uhh, I think not." He crooked his head to the side and smiled again. Creepy! "No one is coming for you two. Not for a while at least." He walked closer, and his eyes continued to stay locked on Ms. Lucas. Even though he wasn't staring directly at me, his stare gave me all sorts of bad vibes, and made me squirm a little. "What I want, I have. Thanks to you darling. I had my eyes on little Camilla for a few days now and just right before I was going to take her for myself, you came along! Sneaking her away from the Winchesters and voila! I have her for myself and bait to kill the Winchesters! It's a win-win scenario."

"It's voilà! If you're going to say it, say it right. Je me fais chier." I quipped.

"You are fucking sick." Ms. Lucas practically spat the words at him. "Having your eyes on a child?" She shook her head and met the eyes of the creepy man, but from where I was sitting I could feel that she was afraid. "What do the Winchesters have to do with all this anyways? Do you have some sort of history with them?" Ms. Lucas asked and I wanted to bang my head on the wall. I mean really? Right now you're still focused on trying to build a case against my dad and uncle. Hardly the time...

"Oh, don't misunderstand me. I'm not into children in the slightest. Nasty little things, but this one smells particularly delicious." He glanced at me and licked his lips. I shivered in disgust. So, my thoughts were confirmed, he wasn't human that's for sure. "And my kind have plenty of history with the Winchesters." His gaze shifted back over to Ms. Lucas. He's not a greek monster, or else he'd know why I smell good. What is he...

"You're kind? You seem like any other kind of lowlife to me." She continued.

"Ms. Lucas..." I tried to warn her, but the man held up a finger.

"Now, now Camilla. The adults are talking." He grinned, but didn't turn his head and I started to try and slowly shift around where I was sitting. It probably looked a lot like anxious squirming because I'm good at pretending and that was the idea, but really I was trying to move my feet around enough to see if my knife was still in my boot. Gods… I hope it was in my boot.

"The police will be notified of our disappearance by morning." Ms. Lucas continued to try and pressure him.

"Yes, and if the Winchesters are gone they will blame them and if they aren't… Well they're still the first people they're going after, especially after that little scene from the hospital." The creepy blonde chuckled. "I wouldn't count on the Winchesters for your rescue either, because I've set them on a different path. A little bit of sulfur and they just assume it's a little demon."

"Demon?" Ms. Lucas sounded confused and I felt for her.

"Oh you poor little thing." The man clicked his tongue a few times. "You are so wonderfully in the dark right now aren't you? So innocent and unaware. It's really quite adorable." He reached a hand out and brushed Ms. Lucas' hair aside a little and grinned at her when she flinched. "That's my favorite. How should I break you in? Well there are a lot of options, and I could keep you around as a cover for a little while before Camilla and I leave. I would love to watch your little world shatter before that though… I may have to be a little forceful and literal, since you couldn't even tell that your little ward was almost gobbled up by a vampire. I think taking your face would be a good choice, and I do like having long pretty hair." The creep nodded to himself. "Yes, I think that will work just fine. No one will question if you're housing this little runaway."

"You're off your meds. You need to let us go, and turn yourself in." She demanded. At that I felt my knife press up against my ankle. Yes!

"You don't understand what I'm trying to tell you. So watch closely." He smirked and he removed his shirt, and Ms. Lucas tensed up more while waiting for whatever he was about to do.

The cracking of bones echoed through the spacious, concrete room as he hunched and seemed to be writhing in pain. His fingernails popped out and his hands were becoming a bloody mess. He groaned as his teeth began falling out of his mouth and was quickly replaced by new ones. He spat out mouthfuls of blood mixed with the old teeth and I shivered. So much blood… I tried to avert my eyes but they were caught again by seeing his ribs literally shift under his skin. He began tearing at his skin, and discarding pieces aside as if it were just another layer of clothing. Gods… I was going to be sick... He scratched at his hair and removed his scalp as darker hair quickly grew in its place. He bent over more and I saw his spine expand and then contract back to place. The skin he had discarded earlier was now melted goop. I closed my eyes for a moment and tried to keep what little was in my stomach from surfacing at the sight we had witnessed. I forced my eyes open and I looked back at him as… she stood up straight looking like Ms. Lucas.

Ms. Lucas was trembling from where she was sitting and she looked a little-okay she looked very-green. I saw the man, who was now a woman pop her neck and stretch out a bit. Her pants were hanging off of her hips and she was completely topless.

"Oh my, I don't think my old clothes are going to suit your body much. Shame that I didn't think to grab your bag earlier." The newly changed Ms. Lucas sighed dramatically and tossed some hair over her shoulder. "I suppose that I'll have to improvise." With that she stepped forward and grabbed the real Ms. Lucas by the arm and fished a key out of her pocket.

*~*~* Point of View Shift - Winchesters *~*~*

"There has to be something that we missed." Dean paced the hotel room that had set up in while practically tearing the hair from his scalp. "Something ran them off of that road and took them, so what else was here?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out." Sam said while staring at his laptop and typing a bit. "Something else was here, but I'm not sure what. There was sulfur on the car, but why would a demon go after Camilla? Even if they knew who she was they already have you in a deal that you're not willing to break." Sam frowned.

"Maybe it's to keep you from digging. If they have a hostage then that's just another reason to keep Dean from breaking his deal. Or more specifically to keep you from trying to break it for him." Bobby suggested, but even he thought it was odd. He frowned to himself and set one of the books he was looking at on the table and picked up a few pictures he took of the car.

"Possible, Sammy here did kill a few crossroad demons." Dean grumbled, and paced some more. "Or maybe Darleen wasn't as clean as she pretended to be. Maybe she made a deal and it came due."

"I doubt it. If Ms. Lucas made a deal with demons then there would have been signs of hellhounds and their bodies would have been torn to shreds." Bobby shook his head and Dean grimaced. "No. I don't think this is a result of that case-worker making some sort of deal with demons. If she had then I think she would have believed you about being more capable of taking care of Camilla. Or maybe hear you out more about what's out there." Bobby frowned and continued looking at the books on the table.

"Dammit, where is your little friend? I thought you called her hours ago."

"Ruby said she was coming down, and if this is a demon then maybe she can help us figure out where Camilla and her case-manager went." Sam said. Then, almost as if she had been summoned by them talking about her, there was a knock on the door. Dean pulled his gun from his waistband and walked over to the door and cautiously opened it. On the other side of the door was a familiar blonde.

"Well I'm pleased to see you too Dean." Ruby snarked as she walked into the room and looked over at Sam. "So you needed to talk?"

"Yea, we have a problem. A girl and her case-worker were taken and sulfur was left at the scene of their car crash." Sam started.

"You're going to have to be a little more specific Sam. That happens all the time. Besides the case-worker part of it." Ruby shrugged, and Dean frowned. He didn't want to think about just how common Ruby made this sound. If demons were taking little girls off of the side of roads then they were gonna take more issues than before.

"This girl is important to us. Really important. Do you know anything or not?" Dean snapped.

"Really important?" Ruby scoffed. "That's hardly more specific Dean. As for what you're asking no, I do not know any demons that are currently in town besides me. The whole vampire thing sort of puts us off."

"What? Not into necrophilia?" Dean snorted.

"Not into biting. Maybe a little bondage but I'm not a biter." She retorted.

"Can you two focus?" Sam interjected. "Listen Ruby, this little girl has a few special properties. She… um… She has a sort of smell that apparently attracts monsters to her and she's still in recovery after almost dying from the vampire mess in town."

"How do you three chuckle heads know her? You didn't just come across Demi-God by chance."

"That's not your business." Dean snapped. He paused for a moment before growing angrier at what she had said. "If you knew it was a Demi-God then why were you dodging the question?" He asked while balling his hands into fists. Bobby continued to sit at the table looking at the three of them going at it. He frowned a little and tried to watch the demon more, as if to see if he'd pick up on any non-verbal responses she was having to their questions.

"Talk or I walk. How do you know her and why do you give a damn?" Ruby retorted as she crossed her arms and continued to stare down the older Winchester.

"Dean, if she wanted to hurt us or betray us, she would have done it already. Just tell her." Sam called out. He was right, and Dean knew that, but he didn't want to risk Ruby knowing about his baby girl. Dean knew he was quickly running out of options, and time to find his daughter but the least monsters knew about her the better. He felt stuck. "If you won't say it, then I will." Sam prompted and Dean groaned.

"Don't get your panties in a twist." Dean sighed, "She's my daughter." He painfully admitted. "I had a fling that I don't remember with a Greek Goddess and a baby was left at the motel we were all staying at. Now," Dean leaned forward on the table. "Do. You. Know. Anything?"

"Now, was that so hard?" Ruby smirked. "No, I don't know anything about demons coming after a supposed daughter of yours. And if I were you, I wouldn't tell that many of people. Demons pick up on the tiniest things, but somehow I don't think any of them know about your daughter. Yet."

"Bitch." Dean grumbled. "If you tell anyone I swear to God I'll-" He started to threaten.

"Enough!" Bobby interjected. "Thanks for keeping us updated Ruby." She gave a sarcastic smile back in response.

"Son of a bitch…" Sam grumbled, looking at his laptop.

"What?" Dean asked, keeping an eye on Ruby.

"We were so focused on the women that were going missing and the people who were getting killed by those vampires that I think we overlooked something." Sam sounded tired and worried as he turned his laptop towards where Bobby was sitting and waved Dean over. "Does this man look familiar to you?" Sam asked. Dean looked at the monitor and frowned at the sight of what looked like a college student. He squinted a bit and looked at Sam.

"Am I supposed to?" Dean looked over at Bobby and Sam who both sighed.

"That was Camilla's RN in training while at the hospital." Sam explained.

"So?" Dean questioned.

"So, this man was reported missing a week ago from a different city." Sam continued. "We saw this guy yesterday morning before Camilla woke up." Dean's eyes widened and looked at the guy's picture again, then at the police report with photos. Same blonde hair blue eyed man he had saw that morning. Sammy was right.

"Son of a bitch." He muttered.

"So, what? There's another player in town? Shifter maybe?" Bobby offered. It made the most sense considering the time lines and such. Only way to really find out is find some video footage of the damn thing and there was no time for that.

"So are you going to officially ask?" Ruby looked at the brothers.

"Ask for what?" Dean frowned.

"My help. You know- to find your darling daughter." Ruby smirked. "I might be able to locate her. You know Demi-Gods have a strong scent, although Demons don't really smell them as much as they sense them."

"What's in it for you?" Dean asked.

"You have such little faith Dean." Ruby walked closer. "I want what I've always wanted. I want to help. I want you to trust me."

"Never going to happen." He growled.

"We are running out of options." Sam interrupted and looked over at Dean. "Camilla is hurt and she's probably scared. Ms. Lucas might already be dead right now. We are running out of time, Dean and if Ruby can help us track her down then I say let her."

"Sam has a point." Bobby sighed. "Camilla might be in worse shape now and if she's a monster magnet like you all say she is then Ruby probably is the best one to track her down."

"Fine! If you move to hurt her I swear, you are gonna pay." He conceded, but continued to glare at Ruby.

"You have my word, I will not hurt her Dean."

"You better not." He said.

"We still need to get an idea of where she could be in this town. If this is a shifter then it's a smart one, because it wanted you looking in the wrong direction for her. It wanted you to think it was a demon. Why?" Bobby questioned and the brothers looked at him.

"Maybe to buy time?" Sam shrugged and sighed when everyone was staring at him. "It can change how it looks, but if we we're looking for that then we would catch on too quickly. I doubt it knew about the demon deal, but maybe if we were looking for a possessed human we would initially fail a test on it. Splashing it with holy water wouldn't work and we would overlook it. Not only that, but if we were against it thinking it was a demon, we would have the wrong equipment. Can't kill it without silver. Make it that much easier for it to kill us."

"So you think this was a trap? You think its hunting us while we were hunting vampires?" Dean questioned.

"Maybe?" Sam shrugged.

*~*~*Point of View Shift - Camilla Hale *~*~*

I was slowly twisting my wrist around in the iron cuff, and honestly trying my best not to look directly at Ms. Lucas. She was… probably shell shocked to be honest, and she was shivering in her dress slip since Mr. Switch Your Face took her blouse and skirt. I couldn't bring myself to even try to comfort her about the whole situation, and not because there wasn't time to, but if I did then that would open up a whole can of worms that I don't think I am ready to talk about. Dad was a hunter, and so none of this was really new but he still reacted… poorly to say the least. Ms. Lucas… Well she wasn't used to any of this and this was my fault, we were run off the road because it could smell me.

I was trying to look as distressed as she was but the fact of the matter was that I already knew these things existed. This whole world was not new to me, and getting chased around by monsters was like a Monday morning event for me, although getting kidnapped by one was a little new. I did get to the part in grandpa's journal that talked about shapeshifters and skinwalkers but didn't think I was going to see one shift in front of my face so soon after learning about them.

I could understand why Uncle Puppy and Dad were so concerned about me fighting these things… Gordon was scary beyond belief and that doesn't even cover an eighth of how I felt about him. I tried to shake my thoughts away from Gordon so I could focus on the matter at hand but it was hard… I could still feel his bruising grip on my arm and when he bit into my neck a couple dozen times. I shivered and tried to shake the memories… Shifters… Shifters... Shifters… What did it say about Shifters?

I racked my brain for any information I could recall from the journal. It mentioned something about how they have emotions and human-like free will. That's why they're so dangerous. They act like humans because they share the same mental characteristics as humans. So they can be bought with human desires like greed. Ugh… I think this one was leaning more towards gluttony, but if it was more human than does it really want to eat me? Or maybe it just likes my scent sort of like a perfume? Still gross. Seriously, camp should install a Psycho Humans 101 class. What else was there… I know you can't kill them with normal weapons, and in fact any sort of shifter is vulnerable to silver. I wondered if my knife worked the same on these guys as it did for the greek monsters. There was really only one way to find out. Gods… If this does work I hope it turns to dust like normal monsters.

I slipped my hand out with a hard yank and yelped in pain. Following that was another bolt of pain searing through my torso. Can't breath too hard, or move around much without it hurting. My wrist was bleeding long before just now and as gross it was to think about- the blood helped slide my hand through, but that didn't mean that I had to like the fact that my wrist and arm were covered in blood.

"You're not the little girl I used to know." I heard Ms. Lucas mumble. It caught me off guard, because not only did she sound almost weak or almost resigned, but her tone made me look up and she looked like a mixture of scared and tired. Like all of her energy was depleting bit by bit yet she still had enough survival instinct to be afraid of what was happening.

"A lot can happen in four years." I responded with a small smile. I painfully, but carefully, scooched over to her and started fiddling with her shackle. It took me a second to be able to breath again. I looked around the warehouse-like area we were in to find something to help with unlocking it. I eventually found a skinny but long nail and started jamming it into the lock. I had no idea what I was doing, but this always worked in the movies. Not that Ms. Lucas needed to know that.

"What did happen to you?" Ms. Lucas asked and her burrow furrowed in the center as she watched me. "You're… Well, you're hardly even phased right now. I feel like my mind is tearing itself apart," she started, and I felt a little worried. Was that a side effect of a shifter taking your form? Tearing at your brain? I shivered and almost dropped the nail I was trying to jam into the stupid lock. "Yet you're just sitting here trying to use a nail to break a lock. It's too normal of a reaction."

"He… It…" I sighed, trying to find the words to explain. "I'm the reason we're here, it's my fault. I put you in danger by just being near you… Gods… First time in years that I'm around you we get kidnapped by a psycho monster and put in shackles." I could feel my chest tighten as my hands fumbled a little with the nail. "What a great reunion." I muttered sarcastically.

"What? Oh sweetie… This is not your fault, that… Whatever that thing is, has lost its mind. Completely off its rocker and that is not your fault. You are a twelve year old little girl and that thing chose to do this to us. You did not make it." Ms. Lucas was trying to reassure me, but it only made me feel worse. I felt tears prick at my eyes and tried to blink them away. I already looked like enough of a mess without crying.

"No, I didn't make it, but this is still on me. I'm dangerous to be around." I tried to keep my voice steady but it still shook.

"Camilla, it's not-" Ms. Lucas tried but I shook my head. I didn't want to hear it because she did not understand. She had no idea just how much of this was on me.

"No. Just don't okay? My dad and uncle are okay because they already knew about this stuff, but those things gather around me, and hunt me down. Me and others like me." I continued to explain. I wasn't about to lie to Ms. Lucas. Not after all that I've put her through, but that didn't make it any easier to tell her. I didn't want her to think I was anything other than the girl she used to care about, and I was reluctant to shatter that image. However we didn't have much of a choice now, because that thing was probably going to be back soon and lying about it was only going to make it worse.

"Others like you? What the hell does that mean?" Ms. Lucas asked.

"I'm not entirely human. I've only known for a few years now. Maybe I've known longer but it's one of the only things in my life that makes perfect sense. It makes everything else weird seem normal." I sighed, giving up on the lock with the nail for now so I could properly explain.

"What does that even mean, not entirely human? Camilla, sweetie, you can't honestly believe that about yourself. That you're less human than anyone else, and if this is about those other families… There is nothing wrong with you. You're just a little girl. A very sweet and special little girl that those people didn't take the time to try and understand." Ms. Lucas sounded sympathetic and I shook my head. Really sweet of her but if she was going to continue being dense this was gonna take way longer than needed.

"No. It's not about that." I sighed. "This is going to sound weird, and you don't have to believe me, just don't hate me." I started. "I'm half human, on my dad's side. The other half is that of the Gods. The Greek Gods. My mom is Aphrodite. Most Demi-Gods find out what they are in a lot of different ways. Some find out they can control flames or water, some get chased by a monster and barely escape with their lives. Others, like me, got approached by a Satyr. A scout for a special camp in New York where they find us and train us to be heros, to protect mortals and to fight the monsters that hunt us down. There's a curse on us that make monsters smell our God blood, and most of the time they wanna eat us. Some monsters want some kind of revenge against our Godly parent. Or in my case revenge against my mortal parent too, so real lucky me there. Then there are some monsters who are pawns for some Gods who want us dead." I paused a little to gauge her reaction. She seemed calm enough, and to be listening very intently. She must have been really worried about where I was the last few years. "So, I was at camp. Training and learning."

"Camilla, honey, I just saw something turn into me and walk away with my clothes, talking about how good you smell. But telling me that Greek Gods are real? That they're not just folklore, or mythology? And you're telling me you were at some camp in New York with a bunch of other kids like you? This is a lot to process." She said while she leaned back against a dirty wall. While I would have cautioned her against willingly leaning against anything that disgusting I sort of felt like she needed to. Like it would help her gather her thoughts or something.

"Like I said, you don't have to believe me, but you asked a question, so I answered it." I retorted. "I can prove it." I said and produced my knife out of my boot. "This is Celestial Bronze. In theory it can hurt anything that isn't human. Watch." I said and pricked my finger with the tip of the blade and wiped off the blood with my shirt and showed her the cut. I then gently took her hand- which she was hesitant to give me- and went to prick her finger. I saw her eyes widen as the blade simply passed through her finger, and then through her hand. Which thank Gods it did because I don't think I could deal with learning that Ms. Lucas wasn't human. I pulled back the knife and let her look at her hand and saw slight panic rise to her face. I held my breath a little while her breathing started to get faster and faster… This was a panic attack, and I really didn't know what to do.

"Oh my god… You're really… You're serious and that thing is really after you? Oh my god… Oh my god..." Ms. Lucas put her hand over her heart and closed her eyes as she tried to breath. "I, well… I um, I think I can work with this. Uh… Who doesn't want a child whose mother is literal love and beauty. God… I always thought you were like the prettiest little kid I ever met." Ms. Lucas was rambling and I sort of laughed. Okay, I sort of ugly laughed and it ended with a snort, then ended with pain. If you tell anyone then you will have to die, or wear awful makeup for like a month capisce? That's right I'm looking at you!

"You'll have some other time to process, and like maybe my dad can give you pointers on how to make yourself safer out in a world with monsters." I patted her arm and was pleased she didn't jerk away from me, although it's not like she could have really ran for the hills while chained to the wall. "First, we need to get this cuff off of you. Cause this whole nail bit isn't really working." I jammed the nail against the lock a few more times for good measure and then tossed it.

"Right..." Ms. Lucas looked around and then back at her cuff. "Um, being part God do you have abilities? Maybe something that can be helpful?" Ms. Lucas asked and I shrugged.

"Not really, unless you want me to try and charm the cuff off your arm. Maybe I can compliment its metal and ask really nicely." I rolled my eyes and saw her straighten up a bit.

"No, but maybe you can, what was it you said? Charm? Well, maybe you can charm our captor, and he'll take off the cuff." Ms. Lucas suggested and I blinked once, then twice, and then shook my head as if I was dispelling whatever illusion I just witnessed that made her say that. Once the world remained in order and the same I sort of just stared at her.

"That is a horrible idea." I muttered. In theory it could work. I mean it had thoughts like a human, but I had no energy to even try and pull it off right now. Fighting was definitely vetoed considering Ms. Lucas doesn't know how to and I literally can't right now. I shoved my my knife back in my boot. "We'll wait until the time is right. My dad and uncle are looking for us, along with Bobby. They're good at what they do from what I can tell. They'll find us. And if I happen to be able to get a good angle on this thing, then I'll deal with it." I explained and scoot back to my wall and hid the cuff in my lap with my arms crossed to make it hopefully look like I was still chained down.

"So that's it? Just sit and wait? That's your plan?" She asked.

"If you have any other bright ideas, please go ahead." I suggested and she pursed her lips and looked around the basement or warehouse or whatever we were in. After a moment her eyes landed on a spot behind me.

"There," Ms. Lucas pointed towards a window that was a little higher up the wall. "Do you think you can climb through?" She asked and I sort of gaped at her.

"Ha. You're funny." I quipped. "I can't even breathe without hurting. I can't scale a wall and go out a window."

"Technically the window is on the ground, and we are sub-level. I think… But sweetie this will be the best chance. If he, or um, she comes back down here and you're out of your cuffs she might hurt you. Out of the two of us you're the only one who's currently free." Ms. Lucas explained and I shook my head. That was a worse idea.

"And if I'm gone when she comes back then she might kill you."

"And if you're not she might kill us both." Ms. Lucas said sternly and I sort of felt my chest tighten again. "Camilla, honey, you need to get out of here. If for nothing else but to save your life."

"Demi-God rule 101: No stupid deaths Ms. Lucas. I won't get thirty feet away from here before I collapse from who-knows-what."

"Staying here and getting yourself killed is a stupid death Camilla." She retorted. "And if we are near a road you can flag down a car and get out of here." Gods help me, she's so stubborn.

"Even if I do that, and by some miracle I am near a road to actually get help. He will kill you and then wear you to the prom." I shook my head. "No."

"Camilla Hale I need you to do this for me." Her voice was shaking a little but somehow she managed to still keep it mostly firm. "If you can get help before it comes back then you can help me. The police-"

"Nope. That's not gonna happen, they can't do anything."

"You said your dad was good at this. That this is what they do right? Then go find him." Ms. Lucas continued. "But you are not helping either of us by staying here. So I need you to be strong okay? I need you to be really strong for me and I need you to go while there is still a chance."

"Ms. Lucas, I'm not eight anymore..." I sighed and pushed myself up and flinched when another wave of pain hit me. This was a terrible idea… She's so stubborn!

"No, you're not eight anymore, so it is time to make some big girl decisions." Ms. Lucas leaned away from the wall and tucked a few strands of hair behind my ear. "Staying here is suicide Camilla. I need you to go, okay? You need to go. Arguing is getting us nowhere, and it is costing us precious time."

"Okay, I'm going." I said reluctantly. I forced myself to stand up, despite every bone and muscle in my body violently protesting.

"I'm going to be okay sweetie." Ms. Lucas tried to reassure me but I shook my head.

"You can't promise me that. You don't even know if you're going to live through the day." I huffed and tried to keep my voice from breaking.

"I have faith." She said simply and leaned against the wall. "Just like I had faith that one day I was going to see you again. No more talking. Focus on what you need to do." She nodded towards the wall and I fought the urge to hug her. I knew if I did then I wasn't going to go anywhere. So instead I turned and slowly limped to the window and pushed it up.

 **Authors Note: Thanks for reading!**

 **WeylandCorp 4: Haha, I bet you weren't expecting a shifter. Spoiler, neither were we. Ms. Lucas is complex, but you'll see more of that later.**

 **MangoCheese: We are happy that you still enjoy the story and sorry we have to make you guys wait so long. The goal is eventually we will be able to post super long chapters, but we just aren't there yet. We work super full time jobs. We shall see what Ms. Lucas will do if she survives the next chapter.**

 **spnfandom8: We appreciate you! We hope this chapter didn't disappoint, and there will be more action in the next one.**

 ** _Question:_ if you could ask Camilla anything, what would you ask her?**

 ** _Trivia_ _:_ So Darleen Lucas actually wasn't Camilla's first case manager. The first one was a grumpy old woman named Susan Rodgers who ended up being a monster and tried to kill her. Not that anyone seems to remember her...**


	16. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! We are very sorry this is a little late. We tried our best to get the chapter done and uploaded by yesterday but it just didn't happen. Work for both of us has been very hectic and there was just no time to sit and write the last two weeks at all. We appreciate you guys being so supportive, and understanding, and patient with us. As always, hope you enjoy this chapter, and if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to contact us.**

 **-A &J**

 **Chapter Fifteen**

 _"Misery Business"_

Walking around in the middle of nowhere in all sorts of pain was not a fun thing to do. My sides hurt with every step and breath I took. The whole little girl waddling around in pain really was not good for my image. Honestly… The fact that Ms. Lucas somehow managed to convince me to do this was a miracle in and of itself. My vision was slightly blurry and I was fighting every urge to just lay down and stop moving, because somehow I knew if I did that then I was dead… If I was dead then so was Ms. Lucas and I… I can't add her death to the list of things that regret in this world. I just can't. Get to Dad, Camilla, get to Dad. I looked down the road again to see if there were any cars headed my way. Unfortunately, no dice. I heaved a heavy sigh and winched as my sides contracted again.

Of course something else bad had to happen right after I recover. I wonder if this often happened to Sam and Dean too, and maybe this whole thing was like a family curse or something. After another hour of walking around aimlessly, I felt my knees buckle under me and I dropped to the ground in pain. I didn't know how much longer I was going to be able to keep going like this. It was pitch black out here, and I couldn't even see where I was headed. My head dropped towards the ground and it took every fiber of my being to not start crying. It would only make everything hurt worse. After a moment, I couldn't even keep my eyes open. A nap sounded wonderful. Maybe if I just… lied down for a moment and closed my eyes… A short nap couldn't hurt anything.

"Camilla." There was a light voice that seemed like it was floating around just above me, and it was hard to hear almost as if I was submerged. "Get up." I wanted to listen, and I wanted to find some ability to force myself back up, but I just didn't have the energy.

"Camilla…" The voice sounded like it was getting further away now and I felt myself sinking deeper and deeper until I was just surrounded in darkness.

*~*~*Point of View Shift - Sam and Dean Winchester *~*~*

Camilla. That was all that Dean could think of as he drove up and down various county roads. He thought of how they parted ways and it made his chest constrict around his ribcage. He needed to find Camilla because that couldn't be the last conversation that they ever had. That couldn't be the last time he was going to see her and that couldn't be the last memory she had of him. Dean just needed to find his baby girl. He was trying to do his best to ignore the pair of puppy eyes that were gawking at him from the passenger side of the car, and hopefully if he pretended not to notice then Sam wouldn't start one of his "talks".

"Dean." Granted, this really shouldn't have come as a surprise when Sam started, because frankly Dean Winchester was never that lucky. "I don't know if we can keep this up much longer. It's 3am and whatever has her probably has her tucked away somewhere and we're not going to be able to survey it properly with us being tired." Sammy chimed in. Dean knew he was right, but that wasn't enough to convince him to turn around or to stop the car. If she was hurt he was going to kill whatever took her, and even worse if she was dead then… Then May would be too far away to pay for what he had done by bringing his baby girl into this mess.

"Sam, I need to find her." Dean replied. Sam could see how stressed Dean was. His jaw was ridged and his shoulders square with the steering wheel. Not to mention he was going fifty over the posted speed limit, but nothing new there. It wasn't as if Sam couldn't relate or didn't understand. He wanted Camilla back too, and he prayed that she wasn't hurt worse than before. His niece was just a kid, and she didn't deserve this, but in Dean's state he was either going to get them killed in an car accident or he was going to burn himself out before they could even get to her.

"I know Dean." Sam tried to keep his voice calm, because with how Dean was right now one of them had to be. "We will find her-" Sam started to try and reassure his brother, but Dean slammed his hand on his steering wheel.

"It's not just finding her! I need to find her alive Sam! We don't fully know if this was a shifter or how monsters react to being around her. I don't know if it wants to kill her, or torture her, or hell even eat her!" Dean ranted. "How am I supposed to be a good father to her if I can't even keep her from getting kidnapped from a god-damn shifter?!"

"It's not your fault Dean." Sam tried to ease his guilt, but honestly he should have known better.

"Yeah it is." Dean sighed. "I broke my promise Sammy… I told her that I wasn't going to let anyone take her away and I stood there while her case-worker waltzed in and took off in a car. I let that happen and if I didn't… If I hadn't of done that then the shifter wouldn't have them right now. Camilla would be with us, and probably headed to a different state to hunt something else." Dean hit the steering wheel again.

"Dean… There was nothing you could have done. The law was involved-" Sam started, and Dean interrupted him with a snort. He rolled his eyes at the older Winchester. "-and while you and I can skip town it's harder to that with a child. Ms. Lucas would have reported her missing and there would have been an Amber alert out for Camilla. She would have to hide for the rest of her life and we would have to change her name." Sam sighed and rubbed his temples. "We were trying to figure out how to get proper custody of Camilla so that she could try and have a normal life-" Sam continued but Dean interrupted him again.

"Normal life? There is no such thing as a normal life for her Sam. She is a monster magnet and a Winchester, so don't even start with that. Camilla would constantly be hunting or being hunted, and if that's not enough you heard what she said about her learning disabilities." Dean huffed.

"Will you just listen to me for a minute?!" Sam snapped, and then took a deep breath to try and calm himself down. No matter how annoyed he was starting to get with Dean's attitude lately arguing was not getting them anywhere.. "What I am getting at is that the best thing we could do for her is to have custody of her legally so that she doesn't have to add pretending to be someone else on top of her already hectic life. That was what we were trying to do Dean, and we had no idea that there was a shifter in town that was targeting her. We had no idea that they were going to be run off the road. We thought that she was safe and we had no reason to think otherwise because we were just grateful that she woke up." Sam said.

Dean was quiet for a minute after that. What was he even supposed to say to that? No, that he should have been able to see the future and know what Camilla was going to be in danger. That's not how life works, and no amount of wishing that he could change it was going to reverse time and get him to stop Camilla from getting into Ms. Lucas' car. Dean felt his shoulders slump at how utterly useless he was feeling right now.

"My time here is numbered Sammy… I have about half a year left till I get dragged into the Pit." Dean sighed. "I have things that I wanted to do before then, and a few things I know I'm going to regret when it's time for me to go. Camilla… She can't be one of those things Sammy, okay? She just can't… So I gotta find her, and more than just that I need to find her alive." Dean tried to keep the shaking out of his voice. Of all the things he could not afford to do right now the top of the list was to break down and cry. There wasn't time for that.

"She won't be." Sam reassured his older brother. "We are going to find her Dean, and when we do I'm sure she's going to run straight to you." Sam was silent for a moment after that, and he tried to pick his next words carefully. "Dean… You… You know you have to tell Camilla about the deal. She needs to know that you're dying, or maybe she can help us try and find a way out of your deal."

"No." Dean said sternly. "First, if I try to break the deal then you're dead. Do you hear me? You will be dead. Second, I am not putting that weight on her. It's bad enough that she knows about everything out there, that she is hunted, and that there is nothing we can do to stop it. There is already way too much that is just wrong with her situation and I'm not going to add the knowledge that her dad is dying and going to hell." Dean shook his head.

"Dean." Sam tried, but Dean wasn't hearing any of it.

"No Sam. I'm not going to tell her about it and neither are you. When the time comes… When I die I want her to think it was a freak accident okay? A hunt gone wrong. I don't want you or anyone else telling her otherwise you got it?" Dean insisted.

"You know that lying to her about all of this is wrong. You aren't protecting her Dean, and all of this is just going to make matters worse when she learns the truth. You of all people should know that she can't just stay in the dark forever." Sam scolded him, and hoped that maybe it would finally click in Dean's brain. Maybe he would start caring more about trying to get out of the deal, and maybe he would understand that he had to tell her. If anything in this world was going to make him understand that he had to fight for a way out of his deal it was going to be her. Unfortunately their conversation was cut short when they were interrupted by Dean's phone ringing.

"Oh sorry, looks like we're going to have to put a pin it this conversation." Dean said with a slight smirk while grabbing his phone and answering the call. Sam merely rolled his eyes at his brother's avoidance of the topic. Dean glanced down at the number on the screen before putting his phone on speaker and handing it off to Sam to hold while he continued to steer the car. "Hey Bobby, tell me that you got something."

"We got a 9-1-1 call from a truck driver who said he found a beaten up child on the side of the road. During the phone call he specified that it was a little girl and that there was no one else around; no cars, no people, and no way for him to I.D her. Paramedics and police are on the way to the scene and Ruby is going to see if she can get into the ambulance to see if it's Camilla." Bobby said and Dean seemed to speed up even more.

"Where was the call reported?" Dean asked.

*~*~* Point of View Shift - Camilla *~*~*

When I tried to open my eyes the bright light above me just hurt. My vision was blurry at best and my whole body felt heavy. I rolled my head to the side and vaguely saw an I.V sticking out of my arm and fought the urge to try and pull it out. The bed that I was strapped in shook a little and I felt like I was moving. Was this what pain and exhaustion does to people? I closed my eyes for a second and tried to focus on the situation at hand, but the fogginess in my head made it hard. Taking a deep breath to attempt and steel myself I reopened my eyes and tried to clear my head a bit more to take in my surroundings.

It looked like I was in a small room of sorts, and the walls were metal… Was I locked in another room somewhere else? Did that shifter find me? I squinted against the bright light and tried not to panic, granted it was sort of hard to anyways. I took another breath and continued to look around. I was hooked up to an I.V, so they wanted me alive, for now… Then there was the medical equipment hanging on the wall, so I don't think I'm immediately paying a visit to the Underworld. I felt… Oddly calm, and almost a little out of it so it was really hard to try and focus on anything. Did they give me something? I groaned and tried not to lose whatever was in my stomach, although I'm pretty sure nothing was in there anyways.

"Try not to barf back there." A woman's voice came from ahead of me and I tilted my head back to try and see her. The whole thing was very disorienting and it looked like there were two seats and a window looking out at the moving sky. I frowned and tried to blink a few times to orient myself a little more, but it wasn't really working out for me. It seemed like in one of the seats there was a man who was slightly leaned over the armrest, almost like he was passed out… Then there was someone else with their hands in front of them on a… was that a steering wheel? Was I in someone's car? Gods… I think so? Trying to keep looking ahead at the front of what I think is a car while upside down was really not helping with the nausea and so I stopped before I threw up.

"W-Who are you?" I asked while trying to sound stern, but I sort of mumbled it I think. I even tried to add in my charmspeak for good measure but all that did was make me want to pass out again. Ugh… Worst week ever. Like take my first week at camp and then times it by like a hundred. Seriously. This week was the literal worst week of my entire life, and I have had some pretty shitty weeks.

"The answer to that is really gonna depend on how you answer this question." She started to say as the car, or van, or whatever I was currently in turned. "Are you Camilla Winchester?" She asked and I groaned. Was this another psycho who had a thing against my dad?

"My name is Camilla Hale actually," I started with a slight roll of my eyes. Which was pretty impressive and hard to do when I wanted to fall back unconscious for the next like decade. "What's it to you if I know any Winchesters?" I asked.

"Oh it's definitely you. I don't know how Dean managed to ingrain his mouth into his kid so quickly, but you sound like him all right. The whole distrust thing must run in the family." She said, and I felt like that was supposed to be insulting, however I really can't bring myself to pull a single care from my care cup. "My name is Ruby, and I'm a friend of your Uncle. He called me after you went missing asking for my help." She said and I frowned a bit.

"My uncle called a paramedic?" I asked. "I mean I know he's smart and all but that seems a little… weird that he thought the best help was probably to call a paramedic. Not that I'm complaining, because on a scale of one to ten my pain level is about at a seven all around. Except my legs. I'll give my legs a solid nine. Oh, and my lungs are like a eight." I rambled.

"Oh, I'm not a paramedic." She said nonchalantly.

"Oh, so you just drive a van with medical equipment in it?" I quipped.

"Let's just say that I know my way around the human nervous system and your dad wanted you found before you reached the hospital." She replied. I squeezed my eyes shut from the light within the truck and heaved a sigh. I didn't know her, but saying she knew my dad was enough. I waited while the I.V was dripping away into my arm and I was trying to calm my nerves from having a needle in my arm. The truck slowly came to a stop and I could hear my Dad calling out my name as the engine turned off. I yanked out the needle and quickly climbed out of the back of the ambulance and gimped over to where I heard his voice. The next thing I knew, I was engulfed in his arms and I began to cry once again, making my ribs hurt so much more.

"Shh-shh-shhhh. It's ok. I'm here baby girl. I'm here." He soothed over my hair, and kissed my head and continued to rub my back. "I got you." He continued.

"You ever leave me again I'm going to skin you." I tried threatening, but sleep just hit me in a large wave.

"I know." He replied. I yawned, felt another large bolt of pain shoot through me and blacked out right in Dad's arms.

I woke up in a warm, soft, bed, with someone touching my arm, like a lot. I frowned slightly and pried my eyes open while tilting my head. I saw my dad who was sitting right next to my bed and his hand was feeling over my wrist and it looked like he was mouthing… numbers? What was he doing? No idea.

"Hey there Princess." He greeted me.

"Hi…" I said sleepily. "What time is it?"

"It's about 7am." He replied. A jolt struck through me as I sat up quickly, and tried to ignore the stinging sensation in my torso. There were bigger things to think of and worry about rather than if I had a bruised rib. "Ms. Lucas!"

"Whoa slow down kiddo. We haven't found her yet. Do you know where she is?" Sam chimed in from across the room. I looked over at my Uncle Puppy as he walked over and put a hand on my shoulder and helped my dad slowly ease me back down so that I was laying on the bed again.

"No…" I said disappointingly. "I don't remember where I escaped from. There were no signs or anything… just a giant concrete warehouse I think… I left her there… She told me to escape… That thing turned into her Dad… We need to find her." I pleaded.

"I know. We're looking. Bobby and Ruby are sniffing around. If that thing looks like her then I'll call them and let them know." He said standing up, and left the room, but not before he handed me my bag of Ambrosia and Nectar. I smiled and waved him out the door as he began talking to someone on the phone.

"That's three times now that you've disappeared on us Camilla. You gotta stop or you'll give your dad and I grey hairs all named 'Camilla' by the end of the year." Uncle puppy teased as he sat on the bed and gave me one of his hugs. I relaxed and gave him a light chuckle and wrapped my arms around him and gave him a light squeeze.

"Sorry." I said with a small smile and bit into the Ambrosia again, followed by a couple sips of Nectar. What I wouldn't give to be Percy Jackson right now. He can just dip his foot in a puddle and he's all healed up. So unfair.

"We're just glad to have you back now Camilla." He smiled.

"Me too." I replied and slowly got out of bed. "I'm going to take all the hot water and shower now." I smiled. "There will be no complaining about it from my dad, after the night I had he can suck it up." Uncle Puppy chuckled and went back over the desk and continued typing away on his laptop. I stepped into the shower, washed my hair, my body, and just sat under some warm water for a bit. I couldn't remember the last time I was able to properly wash my body… Since before Gordon that's for sure. I turned off the shower, and dried off before stepping in front of a mirror and got to work with face and rats nest that would be called hair.

I carefully channeled some of the magic from my mom to sculpt a good base for my makeup while I waited for my hair to dry. In the end I decided that a more natural look for my makeup would be beneficial, and no not because I didn't have the energy to do anything more interesting… Okay… Maybe it was a little because of that reason, but the point remains the same! As for my hair I worked on getting it dried before applying some loose waves for the time being. I looked sort of simple but honestly given the moment it felt like the right thing to do. I pulled on some new clothes and bundled up the clothes that were now unfortunately ruined from being covered in dirt and blood. With a heavy sigh from the casualties of this whole fiasco I put them in a separate baggie to figure out what to deal with later. Maybe I would give them a proper funeral and burn them.

 **Author's Note: Hope you enjoyed, see you next week!**

 **WeylandCorp 4: We always appreciate you sticking with the story, and glad you liked the feels, we tried hard. lol**

 ** _Question:_ You think Ms. Lucas is still alive?**

 ** _Trivia:_ Camilla actually enjoys Classic Rock because of her case manager Ms. Lucas.**


	17. Chapter 16

**Authors's Note: Technically it's still Wednesday our time (11:55PM) so it counts! Thanks as usual for being so patient with us! Hope you enjoy this chapter. If you have any comments, questions, or concerns, please feel free to contact us or write us a review, where we will respond in the next chapter! Enjoy! ^_^**

 **-A &J**

 **Chapter Sixteen**

"Sweet Emotion"

"This is so unfair!" I practically stopped my foot while staring down- well, up- at my mountain of an Uncle and apparently overprotective dad. Both of them had their arms crossed and their expressions were stern. I huffed, they haven't seen just how stubborn I could be, and there was absolutely no way they were going to get what they wanted. No. Way. Not this time. "You can't make me stay here!"

"This is for your own good Camilla." My Uncle walked closer to me and put a hand on my shoulder, and I shrugged it off. He sighed, but kept talking. "You're still recovering from all the injuries you've gotten the past week. I mean, first there was Gordon," I tried not to flinch when he said that, but I guess I failed because his eyes softened and he cleared his throat. "And now there is this Shifter after you. We think you should take it easy here and try to heal up some more."

"No." I crossed my arms to mimic my dad's posture. "I know you two want to protect me but that thing could still try and sniff me out. Besides, it still has Ms. Lucas and I'm not just going to sit here and twiddle my thumbs when she could be hurt! Or… Or..." My voice cracked and I felt my arms sort of go slack.

She isn't dead… She can't be dead right? I mean…. It wanted me so it would keep her alive for bait right?

"Camilla..." My dad's voice shook me from my thoughts and I looked at him while he made me sit down on the motel bed. "Princess, I know you're worried about her, and we are going to figure out where she is. I promise. Until then I need to know that you're going to be alright, and it's going to be safer for you to stay here with Bobby." He patted my knee and I shook my head and looked down.

"Ms. Lucas means a lot to me. She was…. She was there, you know? When I was growing up I could always rely on her to help me out. And… This is my fault dad." My voice cracked and he tried to shush me.

"No baby girl, this isn't your fault." He tried, but I didn't want to hear any of it. Ms. Lucas had tried to say that too, and yet here we were in this situation because I smelt good to that freak. I smell good to all freaks, and it was only going to get worse.

"Please, just don't, okay? I don't want to hear the little speech about how I'm innocent in this. How this monster hurts people and that we were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or that it is a sicko and that I can't blame myself for what it's doing because I'm not the one causing the incidents. I'm done hearing that stupid speech!" I leaned forward and put my head into my hands and tried to resist pulling at my hair in frustration. The situation was bad enough without me ruining my hair.

"Yeah, well too bad Princess. You're going to have to hear it again. Your case worker isn't blaming this on you, and if she's as great as you remember her being then you know she wouldn't want you to feel guilty about it." My dad sat down next to me and patted my back, but I didn't lift I head. I just groaned at his speech. "She wanted you to escape Camilla, and I don't think she did that just in hopes she would be saved. She wanted you to get away because she cares about you, kiddo." He said.

"That just makes it worse." I whined while lifting my head from my hands and looking at him. At that the door to the motel opened, but I didn't really turn to look at who walked in. I figured it was likely Bobby. To be honest, I didn't care, and I just wanted my dad to understand. To just get it.

"If I can interject." I heard a woman say and glanced over to the side of the room where the door was closing. I recognized her voice but it took me a second to place it. I think she was from that van, or I guess ambulance?

"No, you can't." My dad all but growled out.

"Dean." My uncle sighed and shook his head. "Just hear her out okay? She helped find Camilla." My uncle pleaded and my dad started to grumble to himself. I'm pretty sure there was a curse word somewhere and then something about being untrustworthy.

"Aw, thanks Sammy." She grinned showing off her perfectly white teeth and my Uncle rolled his eyes. I took this moment to fully evaluate what she looked like and honestly I was a little surprised. The woman was pretty, but not in the way that Bela had been. She was wearing a leather jacket and jeans and sort of had an aura that just shouted that she was a badass. Her hair was blonde and perfectly straight. I mean perfectly straight, because there was not a single hair out of place. She looked like she just fit into this whole situation, and it put me on edge almost immediately. Years of being at camp and learning about who I was taught me a lot of things, but the biggest was to listen to my instincts. This woman was… There was something very off about her and my skin crawled being around her. It was like there was a little alarm in my head going off and saying that she was dangerous.

"Anyways, what I was going to say is that we shouldn't leave Dean's little Mini Me here." She said and I re-evaluated what I thought earlier. Clearly this woman had the right idea.

"No." My dad said sternly but she didn't shrink away. Instead she rolled her eyes and walked closer. I was starting to think my dad actually wasn't that intimidating to everyone as I initially thought. Either that or there was something seriously wrong with this woman.

"Okay Dean-o." She started as she walked even closer and Dean stood up from the bed. "Let's say that you leave her here and we all go out to find her precious case-worker. What is going to stop that shifter from coming here and grabbing her then ditching town huh? Or what if it looks like her case-manager and goes to the cops? Says that you ran her off the road and that you kidnapped your biological daughter. Well then the police are looking for her and you, and if they find her here then she is delivered right to it, and you and Sammy are in handcuffs, in jail being prepared to be handed over to the FBI, and I don't think those fake badges are gonna fool the real Feds. I can only do so much to get you dumbasses out of that situation." She made a very good point and apparently my dad thought so too cause his mouth tightened into a straight line and he looked annoyed.

"I mean she has a good point dad." I added and he glared at me a little.

"Don't help Ruby make a point." He scolded and I shrugged.

"It is better if she's with us all when we go looking. That way no one is left behind on babysitting duty, and she can help us lure it out." Ruby suggested and my dad went rigid.

"You did not just suggest using my daughter as bait." Oof. Dad sounded angry and I sort of bowed out of the conversation. If Ruby wanted to be in this fight with him then so be it, but I wasn't going to. I mean, even if he left me here I guess I could sneak out.

"I did." She kept the staredown going between the two of them, and my uncle apparently decided that he should speak up now that a fight was brewing. "It's not like she's completely useless, Dean. She was trained to fight things like this. She has the instincts and capabilities to get her out of sticky situations, and it'd be the fastest way to draw this thing out." She continued.

"There is no way we can do that Ruby." My uncle sided with my dad. "Camilla has been through enough and we are not going to put her intentionally in a bad situation. If something happened to her..." My uncle shook his head. "We can't."

"But staying here would worsen our chances." I spoke up and caused my uncle and dad to look at me. "Staying in hotel rooms hasn't really worked out for us. I mean… Each time..." I sighed. "I will do whatever you say okay? If you tell me to keep my butt in the car I will. Please dad…" I hugged his side, because maybe I could soften him up and he would agree.

"I would listen to your kid Dean." Ruby added and I wanted to tell her to shut it. I can't soften him up by being cute and hugging him if she opens her mouth, cause the sound of her voice seems to just put him on edge and set him off.

"I really don't care what your input is." My dad snapped at her.

"Dad," I tried to reel him back in. "I don't want to be bait and I don't need to be, but please… I can't stay here while you're out there looking for Ms. Lucas. Besides maybe we will pass something that I recognize." I urged. "Plus, leaving me here would be like dangling me from a fish hook waiting for him to come get me." He looked down at me and we had a mini staring contest. After a minute the tension in his shoulders seemed to fade.

"Fine."

"Yes!" I almost jumped from excitement.

"Now hold on a minute," My dad started and I frowned a little. He wasn't going to take it back was he? "You will do what we say when we say it. When I say we I mean Sam, Bobby, and myself. You never listen to anything that Ruby says got it?" He said and I think Ruby rolled her eyes at him.

"Got it!" I grinned.

"I mean it Camilla. If I say that you stick to me like glue then you better listen, and if I say you stay in the car then you stay." Dad looked at me sternly but I just smiled and hugged him again.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it, Dad. I follow orders and I won't try to use myself for bait okay?" Except for in dire situations, I added to myself. "I just want to help find Ms. Lucas. This is what you and Uncle Puppy do. I know you two can handle the shifter I just want to make sure Ms. Lucas is okay." I smiled at him.

I didn't miss the look he and my uncle shared, but I didn't want to dwell on it. I mean I get it okay? I know that they don't have a lot of faith that Ms. Lucas was still alive, and that they probably would have preferred to get me as far from here as possible but I couldn't just leave. I couldn't give up hope that she was alive either because honestly I don't know what I'll do if she's dead. They can say it wasn't my fault but it took us because of me, and if she died it was because I left her there. So I couldn't bring myself to have anything other than the hope that she was alive. Which means we need to act quickly.

"Let's get out there." Dean said while walking outside and I followed him. Stuck just like glue, like I promised.

The fact that I was sitting in the front seat was a little weird, but granted, dad wanted me on the look-out for anything that looked familiar so we could retrace my escape. What made the whole experience even weirder was Sam sitting in the backseat-not to mention looking a little (a lot) cramped-with Ruby. Who my dad said was not allowed to sit next to me on account of her being a bad influence and he didn't want me corrupted. So this was a very awkward car ride. It was clear how much Dad didn't like Ruby and vice versa, so I don't know why it was decided that we all ride together.

It sort of made me jealous that Bobby was driving alone in his car nearby. He decided to go down a few different roads to spread out more and see if there was anything that sort of matched the type of building I escaped from. Assuming that the shifter didn't move location when I got away from it. Which was obviously the hope and Bobby said depending on what all it would have had to move it's possible that there hasn't been time yet. You know, because most houses and warehouses don't really come with chambers that can hold humans hostage. So there was hope at the very least.

"If the shifter is hoping to lure Camilla back out or to use the likeness of Ms. Lucas to get her back then I don't think he would have killed her yet." Sam said from the backseat and I turned to look at my uncle.

"You really think so?" I asked, and he nodded his head.

"Shifters can skim the thoughts and the memories of the person they take the form of, but they can only do that if the person is alive," My uncle said and I nodded and thought on that a bit. Huh. Guess I should have read a little more about the Shifters in the journal.

"So you think it'll keep her alive long enough to act like it is her in order to retake Camilla?" My dad asked while glancing in the rearview mirror before focusing back on the road.

"It might. I mean Ms. Lucas is her longtime case-worker and would have the law on her side for reclaiming Camilla. It could easily say that you kidnapped her after running them off the road. I mean everyone at the hospital saw the commotion between the two of you before. Then it would be as easy as just disappearing with Camilla once we were out of the way." Sam said, which didn't really do much to make me feel better about the trouble my dad would easily find himself in. However it did give me more hope that Ms. Lucas was useful enough to stay alive.

"Wait!" I shouted while looking out the window and caused my dad to almost slam on the breaks. I pointed at the window to a little trail that was between some rundown looking buildings. "I think I came from that direction, because you see the little fence that's broken right behind those buildings? I think that's where I scraped my arm because it was so dark and I could hardly see." I unconsciously rubbed my arm when I said that.

"Sammy, give Bobby a call. Tell him that we might have a lead." Dean said while turning his car and driving beside one of the more open areas near one of the buildings.

"Hey Bobby, Dean thinks that we might have found something. We're on 12th st next to some rundown builds, and it looks like one of them has an old sign on it. Um… I think it says New Genesis." I heard Sam say from the backseat. Then he tapped the seat we were in. "Bobby said he will be here in about five minutes." Uncle Puppy said to my dad.

"Alright, come on." Dad said while turning off the impala and opening up the drivers side. "Let's take a look around the area. Oh, Camilla-" he started.

"Let me guess. Stay in the car." I grumbled while looking at him but to my surprise he shook his head.

"Not a chance. This is enemy territory and I'm not going to make you a sitting duck. Look in the glove box, there should be some silver jewelry. Grab a ring, or bracelet, or necklace, or whatever is in there. Silver can hurt the shifter and that way if you get approached by Lucas you can test it. If it burns her you know she isn't the real one." Dad said and I nodded and reached into the glove box and looked around for something suitable. I mean a ring wouldn't fit me and it would look weird, unless it was on a chain. With my dads sense of style, which was hardly existent, I bet there wasn't a pretty charm bracelet or anything cute like that. So that left a necklace of some sort which hopefully even he couldn't mess up that bad.

"Okay." I said while fishing out a necklace and sliding out of the car.

"Remember, you are going to stick to us like glue." My dad said and I nodded before walking around to his side of the car to stand near him and look around. I glanced back over at the fence and motioned to it again.

"I think we should go through there. If I did come through that way then the warehouse shouldn't be that far from me. I mean it's not like I could have really gotten that far with how injured I was." I said and my dad nodded and started to walk in that direction.

"I don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves until Bobby gets here." My dad replied as he got closer to the fence and started to inspect it. "Besides we will have to cut a larger hole. While a child can get through here Sam and I are too big." He said.

"I'll get the bolt cutters from the trunk." Sam said and I raised my eyebrow.

"Bolt cutters? You guys just have that on hand?" I asked and my dad grinned.

"Our job is getting into places that are restricted, or places that people don't really want us in Sweetheart." Dad said with a little too much mirth for my taste.

"Some days I wonder how you two are even alive..." I muttered

"Beer and good food." Dad commented. I responded by rolling my eyes and letting out a sigh as Uncle Puppy came back over with the bolt cutters and started clipping away at the fence.

"Can you be any louder with those things?" Ruby scolded.

"I swear I will shoot you Ruby." Dad said and she merely grinned in his direction. Apparently the threat was funny to her.

"Try me Big Boy." She quipped and they got in each others faces again. I swear it was every three minutes with these two…

"Can we not fight right now?" I asked them while walking closer to my dad and lightly tugging on his arm. "I think we have bigger fish to fry you know."

"She's right." Uncle Puppy said while he continued to cut the fence. "I think she's right about coming through here too. I see what looks like it could be a little bit of dried blood on one of the sharper edges of the fence."

"Probably mine..." I muttered, remembering how bad in shape I was when I escaped. I don't quite have a handle on how injured I was only that it was bad. I can't remember the last time before Gordon when I passed out. They say the body can't remember pain, I remember that pain. Granted it was literally five hours ago…

I walked closer to the fence and peeked through it without moving too far from Sam, since Dad said I had to stick with them the whole time. No wandering away, and I wasn't about to argue with how things had been going lately when we were separated. Looking through the fence I tried to see if anything else looked familiar to try and figure out the type of path I might have taken. Honestly it looked like a slight field, which I'm sure I crossed, and then some more buildings. Geez… What was this area even used for before everything shut down? I was momentarily distracted by the rumbling of a car engine and turned around to see Bobby pulling up in what looked like a rust bucket. Did everyone have old as dust cars around here? Was it part of being a hunter? Gods I hoped not.

"What did ya'll find?" Bobby asked while getting out of his car and getting a shotgun out of the passenger seat.

"Looks like Camilla came from over in this direction." Dad said while Bobby walked over to us and motioned over to the fence. "Sammy was making the hole bigger so we could all get through to the otherside without going around." Dad explained and the older hunter just nodded before walking over to where Sam and I were standing with Ruby. Who my dad gave the evil eye to so I took the liberty of slipping through the fence first to avoid anymore of the awkward grudge match between those two.

"Don't stray too far." My dad said as he came through the fence after me and looked around with his gun out. I didn't even see him draw the thing.

"I won't." I promised. "I just wanted to get a better look at the area on the other side. I think… I remember passing through some uneven terrain and stumbling into what felt like pointy grass. So I think I crossed that field over there. My pants had dirt on them too so it could be from that general area." I said.

"Good job junior Detective." Sammy said as he walked through the fence followed by Ruby and Bobby. "Is there anything else that you remember Camilla? I mean even the smallest detail might help. How did you escape?" He asked me.

"I climbed out a window that was a little high up on the wall, but it let out onto the ground. So it was a window on the ground I think." I explained and he nodded.

"Anything else?" Sam asked me and I shrugged.

"Like what?" I asked.

"What did you feel when you climbed out? Was it cold and hard like concrete or stone, or maybe it was dirt, or a plant?" Bobby asked and I thought about it for a minute.

"It was wet and thick. Like gooey. I thought it was super gross and had to wipe my palms off on my pants, and my knees were caked in the gooey mess too." I said. I had wanted to say for sure it was mud, but a part of me was hoping it was mud, and not the extra skin that thing shed off. I almost gagged just thinking about it again.

"It did look like you had dried mud on you when we got to you." My dad said. Thank the gods. "Which means there might be an impression of your hands on the ground somewhere around here. So we are looking for a building with a low window, mud around it, and likely your hand prints in the mud." He said.

"When you were escaping did you run straight out, or did you have to go around the building at all?" Sam asked me and I shook my head.

"No I didn't have to go around. I was able to sort of just go straight out, but I did have to walk around a different building, then between two other ones."

"Alright I think that's enough to go on, Let's spread out and go looking. Camilla, stay with me." Dad ordered. I nodded and followed him to the left side of the buildings to start around in that area. Ruby went with Sam (weird), and Bobby went on with his lonesome. Poor Bobby, always by himself.

"So what's the deal with Uncle Sammy and that blonde chick?" I asked my dad as we walked around a few buildings.

"It's a long story, that's not a good one to tell right now." He whispered, then gave me a look that made me think that I should be whispering too.

"Fine, but I want story time later." I whispered back to him and looked around the area. Gods… Why did it have to be so dark when I was leaving that stupid building?

"Any of this look familiar?" He asked. "Any buildings that stand out to you?"

"It all looks like the same uniform buildings around here. Like what the hell is the point of that? Did they want it to look sketchy as hell?" I whispered in annoyance.

"Watch your language young lady." He scolded. I couldn't help but smile at it.

"I said hell, not fuck."

"Hey!" He tried not to smile while whispering harshly at me. "Only grown ups can say fuck, we coined that term."

"Shows how grown up you are… Making up these rules of yours." I teased. We kept walking and I saw a building off to the side that had a low window and I tugged on his jacket sleeve. When he turned his head back to me I pointed over to the building.

"It has a low window, so maybe we should go over there and take a look. Maybe it's the building that I got away from." I whispered and my dad took the lead towards the building, motioning for me to stay behind him. When we walked closer I looked towards the ground and saw a few pieces of what looked like either grass or maybe a weed in what was primarily mud. What caught my attention was the nails that were sticking out on the windowsill from the outside.

"Yeah, that's not normal." My dad mumbled and crouched down and peered through the dirty window. "I think we have a winner. I think I see someone in there, sort of hunched over and leaned against the wall."

"Ms. Lucas!" I almost exclaimed. "That has to be her, she was chained against a wall when I was last here."

"This window is too small for me to get through, and we would have to break the glass to even get in there." Dad said and bit his lip.

"That's what she had said too. I'll go through and make sure it's her."

"What? No. Sticking like glue remember?" Dad shook his head.

"Right..." I hung my head in defeat. "So how are we gonna get in without It seeing or hearing us? I wanna make sure she's ok, and we might not have that much time…" I said, thinking out loud.

"Very carefully." Was all my dad said while pulling his phone from his pocket and typing out some sort of message.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'll letting Sammy and Bobby know where we are, but we're gonna have a headstart on them for trying to get in there." He said. "Let's see if there's another entrance around here."

"If it's here, wouldn't that be the thing it expects us to do?" I argued.

"Probably, and if its here then it's keeping her down there as a trap." Dad agreed with my earlier point.

"This is ridiculous, it would be so much faster if I just went down there real quick." I argued.

"No. If I start smashing windows then it will really know that we are here and you will be down there alone without me." Dad retorted.

"I do know how to fight on my own you know..." I rolled my eyes again.

"Yeah, but do you know how to pick the lock on her cuff?" He asked.

"Sort of... " I mumbled, recalling my attempt to pick my own lock with a nail earlier that did absolutely nothing.

"If you did then I bet she wouldn't be chained up still, and it's hard to pick locks without practice. Sammy and I have done it plenty of times so if I'm down there I can get her freed from the wall at the very least. If you start a fight in there with her chained to the wall then she might get hurt. Maybe not from your special knife, but very possibly by the shifter." He said and I huffed in annoyance. Mostly because I couldn't exactly argue against his logic.

"You do this way too often..." I sighed.

"Exactly. So let's be smart about this and see if there's another entrance." He ordered and began walking away from the window and towards another side of the building. I huffed and quickly followed him to the next face of the building where there were cellar doors next to the wall. Of course Dad ended up being right… I rolled my eyes in annoyance and walked over as he started fiddling with something on the handle. As I got closer, I saw him with a paperclip and what looked like an extra small knife in a padlock and he seemed focus. After maybe about eleven seconds I hear the lock pop free and he gave me a smile in victory. Okay, maybe there was an actual science to it. Regardless I was even more annoyed that he beat me at something like this and made it look so easy! I had to ask him to show how to do that later.

"Come on, help me open these. Quietly." He said, putting away his little gadgets. I walked over and helped gently lift one door and set it open. Upon the opened door, it revealed a staircase leading down under the building. I helped Dad with the other door to fully reveal the staircase and he took out his gun and began to slowly descend the staircase with me at his heels.

He aimed his gun out in front of him as he continued down the stairs, and began surveying the area. It didn't seem like that thing was here. I relaxed a little. Not that I had much to worry about. Dad could probably handle anything coming his way. He made his way through the little corridor we happened in and we came to a door. He motioned for me to go ahead of him. I ducked under his arms and went over to the door and crouched down to the opening. I slowly turned the knob and pushed it open and peeked my eyes through the crack to see if that thing was there. I recognized the room. Concrete, dusty, smelly, old. I saw some more chained over on the parallel wall to the door and shivered. I didn't hear anything. You could hear a pin drop in that room. I didn't hear any chain rattle either… so Ms. Lucas wasn't moving… My heart ached thing about reasons why she might not be moving anymore…

I looked up at Dad and gave him a nod to go through and I scooted back behind him. He proceeded further in the room and did a 360 turn around and lowered his gun. He turned his head to me, still behind the door and motioned over in front of him. I slowly came out of the little corridor and walked over to him.

"Camilla."

 **Author's Note: See ya in two weeks!**

 **treyalexander63917: Thanks for reading! I guess we'll see!**

 **WeylandCorp 4: See? We knew you were gunna like her eventually, sorry to hear about your job, hope it gets better. Glad that chapter helped and hope this one does too!**

 **Cynder2013: We shall see if she is or not next chapter! (yay cliffhangers). In Percy Jackson, we've decided this is taking place in the beginning of Battle of the Labyrinth, right before his "funeral".**

 **Joann18joker: Ye of such little faith. We'll see :) Although she's not moving so that could mean a lot of things.**

 **Question: Do you guys like the trivias?**

 **Trivia: Camilla's favorite color is green.**


	18. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: Heyyyy guys! Still Wednesday! We are over 100 followers! You guys are the best! Share with EVERYONE! If we get to 100 reviews, we'll do a special thing :-) What is that thing? We'll cross that bridge when we get there. Here's the chapter! ENJOY!**

 **-A &J**

 **Chapter Seventeen**

 **Crazy Train**

"Camilla."

I hastened my pace over to Dad and saw Ms. Lucas still chained to the wall.

"Ms. Lucas!" I exclaimed as I practically dived into her to give her a hug, but I must have been way too excited because she began coughing as soon as my body hit hers. "Shoot, sorry, sorry, sorry." I jumped back a little to give her some room and she shook her head.

"Shh. It's okay sweetie, it just… took me by surprise is all." Ms. Lucas said while trying to move her wrist that was still in the iron cuff. "Listen, we don't have a whole lot of time. That… that thing went looking for you, and he-it-looks like me." She urged and I looked over at my dad and nodded at him. Dad didn't waste a lot of time fishing a little metal thing out of his pocket and started working on the lock.

"Right, Uncle Puppy figured he probably would be." I said and she raised an eyebrow at me.

"Uncle Puppy?" She asked, and I heard Dean chuckle.

"You still wanna take her away from us?" He asked, and she sighed deeply.

"To be fair it really did look like it was hugely your fault she was in the hospital." Ms. Lucas paused for a second. "However recent events makes me think that maybe she really shouldn't be moved that far from you." She added.

"Well I'm glad you're seeing it my way now." Dad said.

"Not now guys." I interjected.

"Right, right." Dad continued picking the lock and it felt like he got it unlocked in literally eleven seconds. I rolled my eyes and made a mental note to have him teach me how to do that later. "Go check the stairs Camilla." He instructed as he helped Ms. Lucas off of the floor and she adjusted the dress slip she was in. I nodded at him and went towards the staircase, but it was a little hard to focus when all I could think of was thanking every God out there that Ms. Lucas was alive. Honestly… I was starting to worry that we were going to be too late. I don't know what I would have done if she hadn't been okay.

My train of thought got interrupted by a sound that seemed way too suspicious. I took a step away from the staircase and stayed quiet in hopes to hear it again. And I did. I turned to look to my left and saw a row of large lockers. I quietly went over to them, keeping an ear out for another bang. Nothing. I wrote it off as maybe it was just old building noises, which I would have tried to believe more if I was any other dumb girl featured in horror movies. However in my life things are rarely that simple so I was fairly certain that something else was here. My first thought was that it was the shifter again… Was it coming back or maybe it had another victim? I slid the knife from my boot and listened again for another thump before grabbing a hold of the locker and yanking it open.

"Mmmmm!" I heard a very panicked sound while thrusting my knife into the locker and blinked when I saw phase through… Ms. Lucas? I pulled my knife back and sure enough there was no blood, no monster dust, or even a pained grunt. I blinked and stared at her and took in her appearance… She was still in a dress slip but her hands were tied behind her back and there was a collar around her neck that was attached to a little chain that connected to the back of the locker on a little loop. There was a cloth tied around Ms. Lucas' head with most of it stuffed into her mouth to keep her from speaking.

"Dad!" I shouted when it all clicked and at the same time I heard a loud thud and a grunt from the area I left him in. I spun on my heel ignoring the muffled shouts from Ms. Lucas. I ran around the corner in time to see my Dad trying to push himself off of the floor as the Ms. Lucas look-a-like kicked him in the stomach and he grunted in pain.

"Leave him alone!" I shouted and charged at the monster. She whipped her head around to look at me and seemed to anticipate where I was going to stab her because she grabbed a hold of my wrist and twisted it to make the knife face away from her and spun me right into her chest. I squirmed and tried to kick at her feet while feeling my own knife press against my throat. I tried to move my free arm but it felt pretty stuck under hers.

"Oh no you don't." I heard the shifter say to me while she pressed the blade against my throat a bit more. I saw my dad scramble to his feet and pull his gun from the back of his pants and aim it at the shifter. He eyes focused on me for a second and then he looked even angrier.

"I knew you'd come back for her." It said. "All I had to do was wait and sure enough you two would waltz on in and try to free her. So predictable." The shifter gloated and I tried to think of what I could do to help. My dad looked hesitant to fire off a shot with me being held captive.

"You son of a bitch, let her go or you're done." Dad threatened.

"It seems I'm done either way. Or you are." It continued. I struggled to try and get into my pocket at least for the necklace I never put on. Hopefully I could surprise it and slip out. The blade pressed a little more against my neck and I couldn't help but let out a whimper. I looked at Dad and he was staring right at the creature. Gun pointed, his jaw clenched, and looking… a little scary to be honest. "Put down your gun, and lay on your stomach like a good boy." The creature demanded. "Or I'll rip off your eyelids and make you watch." I could practically hear the smirk it had on its face.

I gritted my teeth a little at the threat and felt… angry. I was so mad. It took me, and it hurt Ms. Lucas, and now it was threatening my dad. Worse of all, I was still the cause of it and my dad wasn't firing a shot because all he could think was one little slip up and I was done for. I am not a damsel and I am not a victim. I thought bitterly and urged my fingers to stretch a little more until I could feel the edges of my pocket. Stretching as far as I could, I felt the metal chain push against my nails and started to fish it out.

"You son of a bitch." My dad gritted out and glanced back at me. The gun was still in his hand but I could see his arms waver a little bit. Like he was struggling on whether or not he was going to lower it. I tried to communicate with my eyes as best as I could for him not to. To just give me this one minute to do something.

"On the floor." The shifter said again and I felt the blade cut into my skin lightly. "Or she is going to choke on her own blood." It threatened as I pulled the silver chain of the necklace from my pocket and palmed it into my hand. I let the pendant fall from my fingers and fall down a little before flicking my wrist up and letting go, and prayed that Apollo would let my aim somewhat work. Come on, I'll even burn some food to you tonight. I'll make dad do it too. I promised and then heard a yell from above me as the blade fell from my neck a little and the grip on me lessened. Now! I thought and threw my head back into the nose of the shifter and threw my body to the side making it let go of me. The blade of the knife nicked my chin but it was worth it for the gunshot that ripped through the air.

"Camilla!" My dad shouted but honestly it was a little hard to hear him with how my ears were ringing from the gunshot. Gods… He was right it was really loud without the ear-plugs. Dad pulled me off the ground and inspected my neck and chin and sighed in relief after a second. "Nothing too deep, just a scratch," He said and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. Just a scratch my ass...

"I saw her, the real Ms. Lucas." I said while rubbing at my ears as if that would somehow help. "She was in a locker, and she was all… restrained? I um… I saw that and then I heard the commotion out here." I said and dad grabbed my hand and pulled me behind him as he walked back towards the stairs. I started to turn my head to look at where the shifter was but he seemed to anticipate my move and I felt him jerk me forward so I couldn't.

"You don't want to look." Dad said and I frowned at him a little. It's not like I haven't seen monsters turn to dust before. We went over to Ms. Lucas and we slowly helped her out of the restraints.

"Ms. Lucas…" I started to tear up. She shook her head and hugged me tightly and stroked my hair. At that I could hear a pair of footsteps emerge from the staircase, but I didn't care. Ms. Lucas was safe, and she was ok.

"We need to get you to a hospital." Uncle Puppy spoke up and I could feel Ms. Lucas nodding her head to Sam and she and I gimped to a car. I refused to leave her side until we got to the hospital when I was ripped away from her so the doctors could take a look at her. So, instead I clutched onto Dad's hand where he rubbed my back and kissed my head and held me tight.

"You did good Princess." Dad spoke softly, and I hear his smile." I didn't have the energy to respond. I just leaned against him and slept.

*~*~* Point of View Shift - Winchester*~*~*

Dean watched as Camilla fell asleep against his shoulder. He couldn't help but smile and he cherished this moment. The doc came out after a while and walked over to the boys.

"How is she?" Dean asked.

"She's okay. Breathings fine, she has a couple of cracked ribs but she should be good to leave in a day or so." The doctor explained. "She's asking to see you."

"Thanks, Doc." He said, motioning over Sammy to help him lay Camilla down on the bench so she could sleep. Dean walked into the room and saw Ms. Lucas sitting in bed reading a document. "Feeling ok?" He asked, walking over and took a seat next to the bed.

It was a little weird how there was a lot of tension in the room but it wasn't the same as before. It wasn't when Ms. Lucas showed up the first time and stormed in ready to tear apart his already crumbling world. She seemed tense but it wasn't the same as before and Dean couldn't help but feel a little bad. There was a look in her eyes now, one that wasn't there before, and it only ever happened when someone got exposed to everything out there. When they realized there was a lot more to be afraid of than just the run of the mill criminal or car accident.

"Oh sure. Getting into a car accident, learning monsters are real, and that the sweet little girl I raised is a product of a human and a Greek God are just a few daily things that happen in my crazy life." She replied sarcastically. "I definitely understand what you meant by she needs to be protected. I get that now. However, I still can't let you just take her. Someone has to adopt her and you and your brother are nowhere near qualified. A judge needs to see proof a property, of income, and proof of education. I had a few thoughts that I think will work but I have to stay here for a few days before I can help you prepare." She explained.

"So, you're going to help us out?" Dean asked and he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive about the sudden offer.

"That's what I just said, isn't it?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Right, sorry. A lot's happened today." He admitted.

"I get that." She paused for a second. "I have a solution for education but housing and income will have to come from you guys."

"What did you have in mind?" Dean asked.

"Well, Camilla has been missing for a few years and she hasn't been to school. Putting her on online classes for a couple years so she can catch up is completely understandable. No judge is going to deny that, and that way you guys can keep traveling and doing what you do. Now we just need to figure out a permanent address and a source of income from her guardian." She said and Dean nodded.

"Sam and I actually had a thought about that whole situation. If we can't adopt her, maybe Bobby can. He runs a junkyard as a cover for the hunting thing, and he owns his own home in South Dakota. So he has a home and a source of income that's actually reported to the government." Dean said and Ms. Lucas nodded as she considered it.

"That's a start. I'll have to come by and run a mock inspection so we can make sure the jury will accept it, then make any changes from there."

"Alright, sounds like a plan." Dean nodded. Ms. Lucas gave him a small smile and seemed to relax a little.

"Can I see her?" She asked a little timidly.

"She's asleep. You should get some rest too. I'll bring her by in the morning."

"Alright." She smiled a little, as Dean got up to leave. "Dean." She called out.

"Yea?" He turned around to look at her. Ms. Lucas seemed to fidget in her bed, as if she was trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to say next.

"Thank you, by the way." She started while looking at Dean. "For everything that you guys did today. For finding and making sure Camilla was okay and for saving my life." She added. He gave her a smile and nodded.

"That's what we do." He replied and left the room.

*~*~* Point of View Shift - Camilla - one week later *~*~*

I stared up at the house with the paling blue paint that was literally surrounded by what probably was a Hephaestus kid's dream but honestly just sort of looked like a lot of trash to me. Although it was a pretty large looking, two-story house and I was trying my best not to cringe while standing in the yard. I mean… What was this anyways? Did I suddenly end up in It Takes Two? _Was I suddenly part of the Butkis family?_ I bit back the snark that was trying to wiggle itself free from my throat.

"Wow." Ms. Lucas said as she looked around. She looked a lot more cleaned up now and she was wearing a pantsuit this time, but I could still see the bruising on her cheekbone and the cut that's healing on her lips. I guess that was the downside of being fully human; the recovery rate was a whole lot longer than mine. "This is… A very nice looking house, and um… How many bedrooms are there?" She asked looking over at Bobby.

"Three. All of them are upstairs and there's two bathrooms." He said to her as he walked up to unlock the door. Well… At least now when I'm here from time to time I can have access to my own bathroom. That would be super nice since camp has a community bathroom and when we're on the road I have to share with my dad and uncle. _I wonder if it has a lot of counter-oh my god…_ I stopped walking when I entered the… was it a living room? Cause it felt like a graveyard of books.

"Um… Is there… a system?" Ms. Lucas was wide eyed when she looked over at Bobby.

"Yeah. That pile over there is in Latin, and then that pile next to it is about demons and early versions of the bible." He shrugged and I turned and looked at my dad who looked way too… happy? Or maybe he was just used to being in this place. You know, where death was completely possible in case there was an avalanche of books.

"This is… Quite the collection." Ms. Lucas took a timid step deeper into the paper coffin and looked around. "Maybe we can work on reorganizing it a bit? Most social workers would walk into this and be a little… overwhelmed and sort of frightened." She continued as she walked further in and looked at the staircase. "The books stacked on the stairs would be considered a tripping hazard." She said and I grimaced. This place is a health hazard, so how is he still alive?

"I'll get the boys to help me build more book cases." Bobby responded in a gruff voice and Ms. Lucas nodded as she continued to the kitchen and I sort of clung to my dad's side. A little afraid that something was going to come to life in here and eat me.

"The kitchen looks really nice. We can do some cleaning in here to make it look a little less dusty but over all the set up is nice and there are smoke detectors." Ms. Lucas trailed up the stairs after Bobby and I looked over at my dad.

"Is this place for real?" I whispered.

"Be nice. This is Bobby's home and he's helping us out here." My dad lightly scolded and I put my hand over my heart as if he had hurt me.

"Well, I never," I mean, I never said it out loud. "I was just asking if this was a library. How many books are there?" I asked, and somehow thought that not only would Hephestaus children be in love with this place, but as it turns out so would the Athena cabin.

"Thousands." My uncle responded and I opened my mouth to respond but shut it when I saw Grandpa Bobby and Ms. Lucas coming back down the stairs.

"This is a really good start and the structure of the house looks very secure. There are plenty of rooms so we will be able to set up a room that will be Camilla's. However, there is a lot that needs to be done to make it more presentable when I have to do the official walk-through. I'll help you all-clean it up and if you and the Winchesters can build bookshelves that would be helpful for the books. You can even create a wall of books in the room Camilla will be staying in." She walked further into the "living room" into a study/den area with a fireplace and stopped dead in her tracks, looking up at the ceiling. "What's _that_?" She asked, sounding horrified.

"What?" I asked and lightly jogged over and my jaw dropping looking at the black-as-night pentagram painted on the ceiling. It looked like a devil-thing and I don't like it. Bobby walked over and looked at what we were gawking at.

"It's a Devils Trap." He said oh-so-casually. Like we're supposed to know what in the world that is.

"That definitely needs to get covered up." Ms. Lucas commanded.

"Seconded." I agreed.

"Why? What's wrong with it?" Dean asked.

" _Normal people_ don't know what that thing is, or what it's supposed to do, and it looks _satanic_!" I lectured.

"It's supposed to trap demons." Bobby explained.

"Great. But that doesn't change the fact that it's a devil thing and normal people are going to think it's a devil thing. We need to cover it up. Not with paint or anything, maybe we can find a painting or a tapestry to hang up there or something." I suggested.

"That's a good idea, Camilla." Ms. Lucas complimented and I couldn't help but feel pleased.

"Yeah, yeah. We will get on that. How much time can you give us?" Bobby asked and Ms. Lucas frowned slightly while biting her lip in thought.

"At the most? Before I do a walk through I can give you about a week to prepare. I'll be staying in town processing paperwork and doing background checks and Camilla will be with me in my hotel. However I think I'll have her here most of the time helping clean and I'll be able to help you out too." Ms. Lucas said and I tried not to get all giddy. I mean, the cleaning was a little less than fun to think of, but the fact that I was going to be able to stay with my dad was worth it.

"So what will the walk-through require?" Dad asked.

"Well… I'll be taking a statement from Bobby about his ability to look after a child and why he wants to adopt." Ms. Lucas said and looked over at Bobby. "Feel free to use anything to gain empathy from the court. It helps." She added and then looked back over at my dad. "I'll also be walking through the house and taking photos of it so that they can see what it looks like. After that for the first year there will be surprise inspections-but don't worry, I'll try to give you a heads up-and we will need to see Camilla's improvement in school under his guardianship." Ms. Lucas finished and Uncle Puppy nodded.

"Okay, so that sounds easy enough. The three of us can get started on building the bookshelves after we make a run to the hardware store. Can you and Camilla start piling books a little away from the wall so we can start building the shelves against them?" My uncle asked and then we sort of just spun into a work cycle that lasted a lot of days and let me tell you… The mold that I found in the kitchen and bathroom was disgusting and I could not shower enough after that.

Ms. Lucas and I were primarily scrubbing every surface of the house and trying to dust stuff while my dad, uncle, and honorary grandpa took to building shelves, changing out light fixtures that needed replaced, and did all the handy work. Now, I don't want to say that I work miracles but that house was looking sparkly by the time Ms. Lucas and I finished scrubbing the baseboards. Now if it wasn't already weird enough that she was helping us out-considering that she was less than willing beforehand-the fact that she took to calling my dad _Dean_ and he was calling her _Darleen_ was incredibly uncomfortable. Like cringy. Gross.

However things were finally starting to look up for us and I was not about to look the gift horse in the mouth you know? I liked Bobby too now that I was getting to know him better and honestly you could tell that he loved my dad and uncle a great deal. It felt natural to consider him family and he was very accepting of me, although he was a little wary but the moment he found out I could help him translate Greek and French books he was way more accommodating and we bonded a little. I learned about how he knew Japanese when I found some books containing katakana and hiragana and if you think I wasn't about to jump on the opportunity to learn some of that then you are mistaken. You know what is better than being able to diss people in three languages? Doing it in four.

"This place is looking much better." Ms. Lucas complimented while sipping on a beer. Honestly… I never thought she drank because I sort of just thought she sipped on tea and lemon-aid. Or maybe that was because I was five and she had a very bubblegum image in my mind.

"Now I don't know where anything is." Bobby said in a gruff voice.

"But we organized. I even categorized everything." I said to him and he sort of shrugged.

"Yeah, but I'm an old man with my habits and everything was organized before. Now it's just a mess." He looked and me I sort of gaped at him.

"I organized it by monster in alphabetical order by language. Even the languages are in alphabetical order!" I exclaimed and my dad started laughing in the back of the room.

"Don't worry too much about it Princess." My dad walked over and patted my head. "Bobby has a system that works for him and the books will probably be in piles again before too long." He said but that wasn't very reassuring. I worked hard to do all of this with the books and my hard work was not about to go to waste. Believe it or not you can teach an old dog new tricks and this one was learning.

"In the morning I'll come down and take photos of everything so that I can present it to the judge. I have Bobby's statement and paperwork to submit that shows his income and that this house and the acres of land surrounding it belongs to his family. So the changes of this going through are pretty high. Normally courts would be worried about single parent households but given that Bobby is older and more established in this community and stable financially I don't think it will be a problem." Ms. Lucas smiled at us and I walked over and hugged her.

"Thank you." I mumbled into her arms.

"Sweetheart all I ever wanted was to make sure that you were going to be with a good family. Now I can say that you will be, and nothing makes me happier." I felt her hug me back and I sniffed slightly. I guess somethings really do look up after all.

 **Author's Note: Hope you liked it! See ya'll in two weeks!**

 **WeylandCorp 4: Always glad to hear you like it! Glad we can help!**

 **Joann18joker: Currently we would put her at a 3 physically, her actual abilities are at like a 5. She's not the strongest, she's not the weakest, but, granted, she's 12. She will learn more and develop as the story continues. We has many plans. Glad you like the tirvias!**

 **letonlee: Glad to hear!**

 **Question: What has been your favorite Camilla moment thus far?**

 **Trivia:** **The idea of girl scouts creeps Camilla out, but not because of the girls but because of the moms. They're psycho.**


	19. Chapter 18

**Author's Note: Thanks again for being patient with us! We will try our best to get the next chapter out next week so we can get back on schedule! We were overwhelmed with the amount of comments we received last time and it was honestly amazing. You all rock and you are the greatest! We love the feedback and we love hearing what you all want more of. We are currently at 75 reviews so just 25 more and we will do something special. As usual, if you have any comments, questions, or concerns, feel free to contact us.**

 **-A &J**

 **Chapter Eighteen**

"A Very Supernatural Christmas"

"No… No… This isn't good enough." I muttered to myself while looking through the little outlet mall. As thankful as I was for Bobby to drop me off here there was absolutely nothing that was going to blow them away. Not one gift in any of these past four stores that was good enough! I sighed and leaned against the wall. How was I supposed to find the four perfect gifts? I mean my dad was a dinosaur so he only liked fossils like his car or the tapes he listened to. My uncle was more of a modern man so I could probably find him something in the electronic store, but I wanted it to be special. Grandpa Bobby seemed like a simple man, but I wasn't really sure what I was supposed to get him either… Then there was Mattie. I had to get something for Mattie, and I wasn't sure what. Maybe a haircut? I mean his hair was a mop last time I looked, or maybe some new clothes. I bet he already has outgrown his jacket from before, and I could find something really nice.

Mattie… I haven't spoken to him in a while… between finally being adopted, and the hunting across the globe there was just no time to shoot him an email. I've been learning so much even being away from camp, and I was having the best time. I've been doing more hand to hand combat with Uncle Sam, and target practice with Dad, and of course whenever we could swing by, seeing Grandpa Bobby. I blushed to myself a little, feeling all warm and fuzzy inside that I finally had a place to call home, with people to call family.

 _Snap out of it Camilla! Presents first, then family thoughts!_ I rushed into another store and hunted around for a while and continued thinking about what in the world I was going to get the four most important men in my life. I hunted around for a good- I dunno- three hours or so and finally got some gifts that I considered to be good enough. Boys really are impossible to shop for. At that thought, I remembered that I needed something for Ms. Lucas and mentally slapped myself in the face. I wanted to cry in frustration and scream. _HOW COULD I FORGET TO GET SOMETHING FOR THE WOMAN THAT RAISED ME!?_

I sighed and marched back into the stores and found a porcelain statuette of a dove, (aftering giving her an entire lecture about greek history and all about what my mother represents) I figured it'd be a good little reminder of me as she sits in that Gods boring desk all day long. I skipped happily to the front of the mall. I scanned the area for about three seconds before I saw Grandpa Bobby's beat up, old truck and jogged over fairly quickly. I placed the bags in the back and smiled up at him.

"Got everything you need little missy?" He asked, sounding tired. Sounded like he had just gotten up from a nap. Must have fallen asleep in the car while I was out shopping.

"Yup, I got everything." I said triumphantly. Bobby started the car and drove back to the junkyard. After about a month or so of living there, and learning so much, even I had to admit that it really wasn't _that_ bad. I liked my Grandpa and I was trying to help him adjust to the new organizational situation at home. Although I did want to be with Uncle Sammy and my dad, but they both insisted that I settle in at Grandpa's first for a little while to get used to everything and just in case a surprise inspection pops up to see if I'm settling well.

"Have you been reading like I told you to?" Grandpa asked and I glanced over at him while he pulled into the junkyard.

"Of course I have." I beemed a bright smile at him while unbuckling my seatbelt.

"Oh? _Camilla-chan wa konshuu no kyoo, nani o shimasu ka_?" He asked.

" _Kaimono ni ikimasu_." I grinned at him, and he chuckled a little under his breath.

"Nice try, but I need you to help me with some research." He got out of the car and I groaned a little while climbing out too.

"Research?" I whined a little. "But thats so _boring_ and it's hard because all of the words just float off the pages and the screens." I tried to make a case for myself, and I wasn't about to tell him I knew how to switch the language on my computer to Greek or French.

"Tough." He said and I groaned a little.

" _Grandpa..._ " I whined.

"It's important to know how to research well when you're going on cases, because then you can quickly and correctly identify what monster you're dealing with and the best way to kill it." Bobby said while walking inside, and I walked towards the stairs with the bags in my arms. "Besides, I ordered in a few French lore books and you can read those." He said and I sighed. No getting out of this now...

"Fine, but I'm going to put these away in my room first." I called back while jogging up the stairs and nudging my door open with my foot. It was weird to call it _mine_ because I don't think I ever really had a room to myself before you know? Before camp I was always sharing rooms with the other parentless kids in the foster homes and when I did go to camp I had like fifteen sisters and four brothers to share the cabin with. It got really cramped, really quick, then after that it was a motel room, after motel room with Dad and Puppy. So, while I was one hundred percent grateful for the personal space, it still felt a little… unreal I guess? Almost empty, and all that did was make me miss my dad more, and wonder what he was up to. Probably stuffing his face with pie and kicking some monster's butt. I really hoped he was going to be home for Christmas, because I never really had a real one before and I wanted to give him his gift.

"Wonder how he felt about the holiday considering the Pagan rituals surrounding it..." I muttered to myself while putting the bags on the bed.

"Probably hates it because of the monster hunting and all." A voice called out behind me and I couldn't help but yelp and whip around with my knife to see a mop head of brown hair smirking at me.

"Mattie! Announce yourself will you?!" I lectured. Oh gods. He was here. This isn't an I.M. He's here! I heard rapid footsteps running up the stairs and my door being kicked open. I whipped around again to see Grandpa Bobby looking startled… And pointing a shotgun at Mattie… _Sigh._

"Grandpa!" I shouted and put a hand up, as if somehow I could stop the bullet if he decided to open fire on Mattie, _who was an idiot_ I might add.

"Grandpa?" Mattie questioned, and gave me a super confused look. "I thought you said your Grandpa was dead." He said but I completely ignored him. There were bigger things to worry about, such as my Grandpa not shooting him.

"Sorry! This is a friend from camp! Don't shoot us!" I quickly explained. I watched as Grandpa Bobby lowered his shotgun but I didn't miss how he still had his hand near the trigger and how easily he could bring it back up if he needed to.

"How the hell did you get in here kid?" Bobby questioned.

"Yeah Mattie," I started while whipping my head back to look at my friend who was smiling almost impishly. "How did you get here?" I don't remember telling Mattie where I was going to be living. I was slightly glaring, because as much as I loved my bestie, he was going to give my Grandpa a heart attack and I was going to have to kill him in revenge.

"I'm an expert at finding people and your locks suck." He admitted. "I mean, I'm the one who uncovered John WInchester's alias. I'm good at what I do, old man." He continued to tease.

"Call me old man again and I'll send you to Hades." He threatened, and honestly I believed it.

"I'm sorry, it won't happen again, sir. I just wanted to surprise Cami here. But seriously, I would update and change your locks if I were you." He straightened up and went to go shake Bobby's hand, which he accepted.

"Clearly." He grumbled and left my room, heading downstairs. Mattie started laughing and I whacked him in the arm.

"You scared me! Don't you ever do that again!" I lectured.

"Sorry! Like I said, I wanted to surprise you, and seeing as you weren't going to come to camp for christmas, I wanted to hand deliver my gift to you." He said, producing a small white box and handing it to me. I looked at the box and turned it over in my hands.

"Can I open it?" I asked Mattie, who rolled his eyes.

"No, I just wanted to hand it to you for suspense." He shook his head. "Of course I want you to open-" Then there was water literally all over him, and I mean like drenching his hair and the top of his shirt. "-it." He shook out his hands a little to flick some of the water off and I started to laugh while he turned and looked at Bobby who was holding an empty jug.

"Really?" Mattie asked. "I know I broke in but isn't this a little too much?"

"Grandpa…" I whined.

"Had to make sure." He said and he took out a silver butter knife and pressed it against Mattie's forearm. Nothing. I sighed and wanted the ground to swallow me.

"Carry on." Bobby said, leaving the room. I shook my head and started to carefully open the box, inside was a charm bracelet with a little dove and Hermes' staff dangling from the chains. I felt my heart warm and I hugged him tight.

"Thank you!" I said and I felt his arms wrap around me.

"You're welcome." He replied and I could hear his smile.

"Here, it isn't wrapped yet… but I did get you something." I said, going over to my bed and digging around in the bags for Mattie's gift. I took out the thing wrapped in tissue paper and handed it to him. He uncovered and smiled.

"The every flavor jelly beans from Harry Potter, _nice_!" He enthused. "Thanks Cami." He smiled and nodded at him and went back over to the bed and put all the bags back in order so nothing would fall out. I could hear Mattie wringing out his shirt from the water being dumped on him behind me. "Is he nuts?" He asked.

"What?" I asked, trying to place who he meant.

"The old man. He seems crazy. He just dumped water on me and poked me with a butter knife. As if it would actually do anything." He complained.

"No, he's paranoid." I responded. "The jug was Holy Water, and the knife was pure silver, he was testing to see if you were a demon or a shifter of some kind." I explained.

"How does water show weather or not I'm a demon?" He asked.

" _Holy_ water." I corrected. "If you were possessed by a demon, it would have burned you. Same with the silver knife."

"So what would he have done if it did?" He asked.

"Well, if you were a shifter, he probably would have shot you. If you were a demon…" I trailed off and pushed him off of my rug and peeled it back to reveal one of the _hundreds_ of devils traps riddled throughout the house. "This would have trapped you long enough to exorcise the thing out of you and send it to hell." I explained, and saw Mattie's eyes bug out.

"Wait, human Hell is a thing?" He asked.

"You're surprised? The Underworld is real. Why can't Hell be? Also it's not _human_ Hell, it's just Hell." I asked.

"I dunno, just seems unrealistic. If your a bad person and commit so many sins, you get tossed in a pit to be tortured for all eternity? Seems harsh, and dumb."

"Dummy, what do you think the fields of punishment are for?" I rolled my eyes.

"For the extra bad people, who do a lot of stupid things like wake up Giants, or try and murder Gods, or get on Hades' _really_ bad list." Mattie counted off the reasons on his fingers.

"Like he's some Underworld Santa? And you claim to be the smart one here." I rolled my eyes.

"I _am_ the smart one. For one, I did not just call Lord Hades, Underworld Santa-" Mattie started,

"You kind of did." I muttered.

"Two, I told you how to switch the settings on your computer so that you could actually read. Let's not forget number three, I'm older." Mattie stated.

"You have no jurisdiction here. And technically I've been at camp longer than you, so _I_ have seniority."

"You were there three months before me, it doesn't count." He retaliated.

"And how much do you go through in three months, Mattie?" I challenged. "Cause I learned how to use magic makeup, all of the camp songs, and participated in twelve capture the flags by the time you showed up."

"Well in the three years since we have both been there I out rank you in archery, sword fighting, strategy, lock picking, technology, and must I continue Cami?" He smirked and I rolled my eyes.

"Why do you always have the need to try and win at everything? You know-it-all." I crossed my arms and he grinned while mimicking me like the annoying little Hermes kid that he is. I thought he was supposed to be older and more mature than I was.

"You try to do the same thing, Princess, and I'm simply better at it." Mattie teased and I sighed while trying to shove him out of my room.

"Just admit you're dumb and you don't know what you're talking about." I put a little more emphasis in my words and smirked when I heard him start to talk.

"I'm dumb and I don't know what I'm talking about." He repeated and he sighed. "No fair using your charmspeak." He glared.

"Sorry… can't help it." I apologized. I'm not sorry. Before we could get into more of a debate about just how stupid he was and that I was clearly superior in every way Bobby came back up the stairs and looked at the two of us.

"Alright, the two of you are downstairs now. I called Dean and he said under no circumstance was there ever to be a boy alone with you." Grandpa said and I pouted at him a little.

"Snitch…" I grumbled under my breath.

"No your Dad and Grandpa are right," Mattie said and I rolled my eyes at him. Little kiss up. "Besides, you were telling me all about this hunting thing anyways and I want to hear more about it."

"Alright," I sighed at Mattie and looked over at Grandpa. "We were coming downstairs anyway." I admitted and we followed Grandpa Bobby down to our kind of combined study area. "How is the case going?" I asked.

"So far so good, they haven't had many leads yet, but I'm sure something will turn up sooner or later." He replied.

"What type of case is it?" Mattie asked and I shrugged.

"There have been some deaths in Michigan around the holidays, and they've seemed pretty weird. Fathers going missing with only teeth or a foot left behind after being pulled up a chimney." Bobby said and Mattie sat down with us.

"That sounds intense, and they don't really have an idea of what's doing it yet?" Mattie asked and Bobby shook his head as his phone rang. He stood up and answered the call while walking out of the room and Mattie turned and looked over at me. "People are dying and you're hanging around them?" Mattie asked while looking a little worried now, rather than just the nonchalant or mischievious like before.

"Well yeah." I said while opening up the book in front of me, "That's why they hunt, because people are getting hurt or dying and they're trying to stop it from happening." I said.

"You shouldn't be traveling with them Cami." He started, and I rolled my eyes at his overprotective attitude.

" _Camilla_." I corrected, "Besides, I like being able to help them out and to be able to save people. My life is already dangerous Mattie."

"Dangerous because you get _hunted_ but that doesn't mean that we just run out and start fighting every monster that we can." He said. "We protect camp and fight off anything that gets too close, and we train with other Demi-gods to prepare for quests. This isn't you."

"Well it is me now." I said while turning myself so I could fully look Mattie in the eye. "Maybe we should be going out and fighting monsters regularly too, not just waiting for them to come attack us. We could take a note from their book Mattie." I argued.

"I know you have been dying to play hero Cami, but this is a bit much, and you're going to get yourself killed instead of just hurt next time." He said and I raised an eyebrow.

"Next time?" I asked.

"You ended up in the hospital this last time Cami. Twice. Next time you might not be-" Mattie started but I cut him off.

"I never told you that. Not once." I said and sat up straighter. "How did you know that I was in the hospital at all, or that I lived here?"

"I..." Mattie sighed. "I've been trying to keep tabs on you since you left… I… I know that you're going to say that you can protect yourself okay? I know that you and I received the same training but I was worried."

"So you spied on me?" I asked. "I don't need you spying on me." I crossed my arms.

"I had to. You weren't calling camp anymore and I was worried that after a while something might have happened… When I looked you up I saw records of a recent hospital visit and then I hacked a little-okay a lot-and I found this address as a new place you lived so I came to check it out." Mattie said.

"Then call me, but don't just invade my personal-" I started but Mattie cut me off and started to speak a little lower.

"It wasn't the only reason I came here." He whispered while looking over at the door Grandpa Bobby walked through. "There are… Things going on at camp right now." He whispered and I felt myself straighten up a bit more.

"What things?" I whispered back.

"Artemis is missing, and two campers and three huntresses have been sent on a quest to go get her before the winter solstice meeting of the Gods. Without her, nothing gets done. Annabeth is gone, too." He quickly explained, and my heart sank. To think Annabeth was gone… it's terrible, but a Goddess missing is a very bad thing. He was right- Artemis needed to be there, but without an actual quest, there's nothing I can do. Still… if the quest group fails, something really bad was going to happen soon.

"Who went to go get her?" I asked.

"As far as I know, Cabin 1, Cabin 3, a Satyr and two huntresses." He replied. So Thalia, Percy, a poor Satyr, and if I had to guess, probably Zoë and one other girl. I sighed.

"Seems like your dad and uncle is dealing with a Pagan god." Bobby interrupted.

"What?" I asked, looking over at him, as my heart skipped a beat.

"Don't worry, not one of yours, obviously, but it seems like it's all going to end tonight. They'll be back for Christmas in no time." He assured me and walked towards his desk.

"Great!" I exclaimed and I turned to Mattie and lowered my voice again. "I need you to help me get out of here."

 **Author's Note: Hope you liked it!** **Also, if anyone was curious about what Bobby and Camilla said in Japanese, because of course she is learning, he asked what she was doing that day and she responded that she was going to sleep. While we can and I do have the keyboard to write out actual Japanese characters we thought it may be easier for you all to visualize it in romanji.**

 **Trey Alexander: We died when we read this! We already have _a_ plan in motion for Dean/Darlene, you'll just have to keep reading to find out! Sam wasn't in this chapter much either but Sam and Dean will be more focused next chapter.**

 **WeylandCorp 4: To be clear: Bobby is only adoptive father on paper. She will still be travelling with Sam and Dean the majority of the time. It's a legal thing. Dean is wanted on FBI's most wanted and Sam is listed as an accessory to several "murders" so there's no way they could adopt Camilla. Bobby will definitely be picking her brain for Greek related things, so you can count on that. As for Ms. Lucas, she looked like Sandra Bullock from Practical Magic.**

 **Greer123: Only on paper! And occasional guaranteed babysitter.**

 **Skyggedrage: Glad you like it!**

 **Sara: First of, my name is _Camilla_. Second: They are a _million_ times worse than girl scout moms. May as well be gorgons!**

 **Joann18joker: Ha, love that you liked that one, and Camilla will definitely be having some more fights soon.**

 **Binaryrecord274: Working on it! :)**

 **Crazzytony: Glad you're liking it, and we don't quite know what you are asking, could you rephrase? Sorry. If you're asking if the events are going to change The Last Olympian, all we can say is as it stands right now, everything is on a course towards collision.**

 **Skie cat: Not long. Bobby's already trying and Camilla is _not_ having it.**

 ** _Question_ : What do you think Camilla got Sam and Dean for Christmas?**

 ** _Trivia_ : Camilla's favorite color is actually green, not pink, because as much as she loves pink, green is better.**


	20. Chapter 19

**Author's Note: alrightie! Here is the second part to a Supernatural Christmas! J and I are going to try our best from here on out to wrap up episodes in Supernatural into one or two chapters total. As Season 3 of Supernatural comes closer to an end in our first Arc of Camilla's story we do have some fun stuff planned. We want to really thank everyone for their support in this story and we hope that you have continued to enjoy watching Camilla find her home with the two Winchesters and the incredible Bobby (who may or may not be very mad right now). As always we hope that you like this update and please leave any comments you have and we will do our best to respond to you in the next chapter.**

 **Cheers!**

 **\- A & J**

 **Chapter Nineteen**

 **"A Very Supernatural Christmas Part 2"**

"This is a horrible idea." Mattie said while walking outside with me after Bobby went to sleep. Okay… Maybe I charm spoke him just a _little_ so that he would take a nap. Regardless, he was asleep and I may or may not have had a hand in it, so it bought us some time. Also, it wasn't like Mattie was going to be the one who got in trouble for this later. So what did he have to worry about?

"This is the best idea we have remember?" I looked over at him while he grumbled and started to dig through his bag. I smiled a little seeing him so flustered.

"No. My best idea was to leave this alone." He sighed "Besides, you can't send yourself through the mail of the gods!" He explained.

"Why not?" I asked, tilting my head at him. "You can't say your dad hasn't gotten an idea like this before." I retorted.

"I'm not saying he hasn't but it isn't advised." He explained.

"Right. "Not Advised". All that says to me is that it's not prohibited." I smiled as Mattie rolled his eyes.

"Besides, your dad and uncle don't really seem like the type who need to be rescued and your… adoptive dad?" Mattie glanced at me and I rolled my eyes.

"Grandpa." I corrected.

"Right, so your adoptive Grandpa said it was not one of our parents. So it's not like this is going to reflect onto us in any way." Mattie said while pulling out a small ziplock bag of drachma.

"But still. If a Titan is stirring, who's to say that not just the minor gods are turning against Olympus, but what if the other pagan gods do? And what if they're in trouble? You ever hear of a mortal taking down a God?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "At all? Last I checked you couldn't just kill a God- even a minor one- with a stake. They might need my knife." I added. Which reminded me that I needed to get them both one when I get back to camp.

"Fine, fine, whatever. Just so you know, it took me an _eternity_ to save up this much drachma." He complained. I gave him a small, apologetic smile.

"It's being put to good use, stop being such a baby." I teased and reached my hand out so he could give me the bag.

"You're going to pay me back, right?" He asked anxiously.

"I will, I promise. I don't have my drachma here, I left it at camp, so I will pay you back in the summer. Besides, you're a son of Hermes! He should give us a discount, right?" I said, turning towards the road.

"That's not how it works, Camilla." He lectured, which was met with an eye roll.

"Regardless, you should get out of here before Bobby wakes up." I advised and looked at our surroundings to make sure no one was around.

"You cannot really think I'm going to let you go alone." Mattie said and I rolled my eyes at him.

"I am a big girl Mattie." I said and he rolled his eyes.

"You're twelve, and I'm fourteen so therefore I need to look out for little kids like you."

"And yet I still traveled across the country by myself." I spit back.

"This is different. You're going up against another domain of gods for these two guys that you barely even know. You could be in serious danger. You could get hurt." His brows knit together, and his face paled. I could tell that he was worried, and concerned. While it was a sweet thought there really was no time for this right now. I couldn't explain it but I _had_ to go, like probably five minutes ago.

"Mattie. Get over it. I'll be fine. Once I help them out of whatever they get themselves into, they'll be able to figure out how to end it safely. I just have this gut feeling that I'm supposed to be there."

"I still think I need to come with you." Mattie insisted.

"You can help me by figuring out how to ship myself to Michigan. Please, Mattie. I don't want to argue, and I need your help. I just don't need it once I'm there. Despite what you might think, they're good. Like, really good. They could probably even take on some of the kids in the Ares and Athena cabins." I heard him scoff.

"You think they have a chance at any of us at camp? Even Clarisse? Or Annabeth?" He raised an eyebrow.

"God's no! Not against _those two_. That's just unfair. No, I'm saying that they are good enough to protect me." I explained.

"Like they protected you from the hospital? Twice?" He challenged. I frowned at him. How many times was he going to throw that in my face?

"Stop bringing that up Mattie, please. Just help me out? I promise I will shoot you an email or an Iris message once everything's okay, but I'm not ready for you and my dad to meet yet- okay?" I gave him a small smile and my best puppy-dog eyes to try and get him to ease up. He sighed and looked at me.

"Ok, fine. I'll help you get mailed to Michigan." Mattie said and I grinned over at him. "But, you have to pay me back, and even more than that one of these days I get to meet your dad. He has to pass the best friend test before I deem him worthy of being your father."

"I don't think you can deem him worthy of something that he already is." I pointed out and Mattie rolled his eyes.

"Just because someone is biologically your dad does not mean that they are worth your time or admiration." Mattie muttered. "Especially if they abandoned you." He added and I groaned, for like the millionth time.

"He did not abandon me." I spelled out as slowly as I could for him. "My biological Grandpa dropped me off Mattie. It wasn't my dad or my uncle who did that and I don't plan on holding them accountable for what someone else did." I started to walk down the street with Mattie. I tried to come up with a way for him to understand.

To understand how my dad and uncle were _trying_ and that I wanted to try too. Camp was wonderful and the campers were friends and close allies but it was different… It was different when my sisters went home to their fathers or even when Mattie went to see his mom. Every day after I fled the system was spent at camp; and there were no holidays with my dad or first days of school where he dropped me off. I sighed the more I thought about it, because honestly I don't think that Mattie could understand. Not when his mortal parent had watched him grow up and been there in a way that mine wasn't. As if sensing the drop in my mood I felt Mattie's hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry Cami," He started and I didn't really even have the will to correct him this time. "I know… I know you have been aching to meet him and get to know him. I just… You're family. I'm your family and I'm afraid that this is going to get you hurt." Mattie said and I rolled my shoulder causing his hand to fall away.

"I don't need you to worry about me Mattie. I need you to just support me, okay? No second guessing everything I do, or telling me that you think everything I'm doing here is a mistake." I said and he scoffed.

"I do support you, but you have a history of bad ideas." He said and I huffed.

"Name one!" I demanded.

"Talking me into breaking into the Ares cabin because you were sure that Nikoli had chocolate hidden in there." He said without missing a beat and I tried not to smile.

"It was a reasonable idea." I defended myself.

"It was your "reasonable idea" that got me shot. Twice. In the leg." Mattie deadpanned, and I tried to hold back a snort of laughter.

"Okay. Name another one." I challenged.

"The box dye." He started and my eyes widened. "What color was it? Oh yeah… Purple and Gr-," I interrupted Mattie by hitting him in the arm and he laughed. While hair was not a laughing matter I did find myself smiling as the tension seemed to ease between us.

"Oh shut it!" I laughed too. Just like that… It felt like everything was back to normal with Mattie.

"Once again, I do have to tell you that this is a bad idea." Mattie said while I climbed into the giant box at the postal office that we… Um… Yeah, there's no way to make that sound better. It was the postal office that we broke into. Thank the Gods for Mattie's talent with all things involving locks.

"Come on, this will be fun." _I hope._ I smiled at him and he sighed before filling out a shipping slip for Hermes Overnight Express and took out his bag of "hard-earned" drachma again.

"Do you know how much this is going to cost because of weight?" He asked and I glared at him from over the top of the box before sitting down and crossing my legs.

"Since you're paying I am going to ignore that comment Mattie." I said while tying my hair into a bun, so you know… it doesn't just become this horrible looking mess after being tossed around.

"Okay," I heard his voice from outside the box and felt it shake a little as he hit the side of it. Rude. "I put the shipping slip on the outside and included a notice that something fragile is inside. So hopefully you're not going to get tossed around like a rag doll on your… Trip."

"Thanks Mattie. You're a doll." I grinned and could imagine his frown.

"Yeah. Yeah. Happy travels." Mattie said as he closed off the box and I felt myself starting to levitate. Have you ever been shipped through God's mail? No? Good, because I do not recommend it. It is like being on a roller-coaster that does a lot of sharp turns, many loops, and you have nothing to hold you down so you're just desperately trying to hold on to the cardboard of the box you're in while praying to Hermes that it doesn't break. Then boom! I hit the floor and the top of the box opened a little from impact. I groaned while rubbing my forearm and trying to find the will to move my sore legs. I don't know how long I was in the box for, but let me tell you, it felt like it was longer than a day. Or maybe that was just because I wasn't a huge fan of being tossed around for who knows how long.

So yeah, maybe it wasn't one of my best ideas but Mattie _cannot_ ever hear me say it. Understand me? Mattie does not and will not know. He doesn't need that kind of power over me. It is the little things that make this friendship wonderful, and one of those is him not knowing when he was right. Ever.

Regardless, it was time to get down to business. So I pushed open the slightly wrecked opening of the box and stuck my head out, and let me tell you… It was pretty gross. The first thing that I noticed was the smell was awful wherever I was, and that it was super hard to see. There was a dampness on the floor that made my skin crawl and I almost wanted to climb back into the box. Almost. Wherever the Hermes express dropped me off at was definitely not on my top five favorite locations. Sliding completely out of the box and looking up and around the room I squinted hard to try and see if I could make out any shapes, but all I really noticed was that something was dangling from the ceiling. I made my way over to one of the dangling things and reached up to lightly poke and it and see what it was.

Mistakes. That was what it was. A horrible mistake that left my hand gross and sticky. I gagged a little and tried my best not to vomit while wiping my hand on the box. Note to self, and to other people who may or may not find themselves in this situation: **do not** touch the stuff hanging from the ceilings unless you never want to feel clean again.

"Lord Hermes… You couldn't drop me off somewhere clean?" I muttered and waited a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dark. Looking around I heard a thump from above me and glanced up at the ceiling. Was it… Footsteps maybe? Someone was walking around up there. I looked around the room again and noticed a few things now that my eyes were adjusting. First, it was as gross as it smelled and-is that a hand? Ugh… There were bags too, and I really didn't want to move any closer but something pushed me to walk over despite my better judgement. I lightly tapped the first bag and watched it swing back and forth for a moment before moving on to the one further back. I poked that one and then almost screamed when it moved in response.

"Please..." A voice said from the bag, and not an uber creepy or dark voice, but one that sounded as scared as I felt and pained.

"H-Hello?" I asked, because in every scary story that is the smart thing to do right? Wrong.

"Please… Please..." The voice whimpered. "I just want to go home..." He, or I think it was a he, practically sobbed and I did my best to keep my voice low and even.

"Shh.. I want to help you but I can't if you make noise." I whispered.

"Quick! Before they come back… They're going to kill me!" It pleaded.

"Shhh.. I said: be quiet." I whispered a little harshly and slid my knife from my boot and sort of sawed at the bag. Let me tell you something; sawing through super thick rope with a celestial bronze knife is not in the slightest easy. Eventually the rope gave out and the bag dropped and started to fall open.

"They-They're crazy." He gasped when he hit the floor and the man was not in good condition. His arm was twisted in a weird angle and his leg was broken from what I could tell. I didn't have too much light to really take a look at him but he did not look good.

"Yeah, they don't seem exactly sane." I responded and crouched down. "Listen, you are not in good condition to move around. I can help you get to a corner of the room and I need you to sit tight while I get help." I said and the man shook his head.

"We have to go now… They will be back soon and they will kill us. They want to kill us!" He whimpered loudly and I covered his mouth with my hand. Moving my free hand in front of my mouth I made a zipped lip motion.

"I am not going to let them kill us, but if you keep freaking out then they will come down here." I said quietly, and I think I was starting to understand why Hermes dropped me here of all places. Obviously this was the monster den, and this mortal was in dire need of help if he was going to survive. That's what we did after all; we saved people, and I wasn't about to let this one down.

"Ok… Ok…" He agreed. "But, how can you get us out? You look like a kid…" This guy clearly has been through a lot of trauma and has probably _several_ broken bones, so I'm going to let that slide.

"I'm stronger than I look." I affirmed. He nodded hesitantly and sat down on the floor (not a good idea, but whatever) and tried to calm himself down. I slowly started to move to the stairs. Please let these not creek. I carefully crawled up the stairs and could hear some talking as I got closer to the closed door.

"D-Don't!" I heard a man scream and I froze on the step. Was that… Was that my uncle?

"Leave him alone, you son of a bitch!" I heard what was without a doubt my dad yelling and I carefully opened the door a little and while I couldn't see anything yet, I could still hear them.

"Hear how they talk to us? To Gods?" I heard a man say, and I felt the color drain a little from my face. They were Gods… How were we supposed to kill them? You needed immortal weapons… Maybe we could hurt them enough to get out of here. I tried not to lose my nerve as I heard the pagan God continue to talk. "Listen, pal, back in the day, we were worshiped by millions."

"Times have changed!" My dad snapped back and I carefully squatted back a bit and kept my breathing even. I really did not need to make noise right now. I pitched my head forward and saw Uncle Puppy and Dad tied down to a couple of chairs while two old geezers circled them like sharks. Uncle Sam was bleeding from his forearm and I could feel my blood boil.

"Tell me about it. All of a sudden, this Jesus character is the hot new thing in town. All of a sudden, our – our altars are being burned down, and we're being hunted down like common monsters." The pagan God continued to ramble on, sounding like he belonged on a sports news anchor giving the play by play, or on some ancient radio show. He sounded like he was from a different decade that I couldn't place.

"But did we say a peep? Oh… no, no, no, we did not." I heard a woman say and mentally cursed even more. Tell me that there were not _two_ of them. "Two millennium." She emphasized. "We kept a low profile; we got jobs, a mortgage. Wh-What was that word, dear?" She stammered and I glanced out into the arch way to try and get a view of what was going on. It seemed like an old woman and man dressed a little too chipper. I mean… I get it is the season but ugly Christmas sweaters are still a sin.

"We assimilated." The male God offered and the woman nodded.

"Yes, we assimilated. Why, we play bridge on Tuesday and Fridays." The woman said as she picked up a sharp looking curved knife and moved over to my dad. "We're just like everybody else." She smiled and I gagged. Everyone else does not _eat_ people lady.

"You're not blending in as smooth as you think, lady." Dad practically growled and I wanted to sigh. Not the time for the sass.

"This might pinch a bit, dear." The Goddess smiled before cutting into him and I winced at how he screamed.

"You bitch!" My dad shouted and I couldn't help but agree. Goddess or not, she was not allowed to torture my dad and get away with it. Better watch out!

"Oh, my goodness me! Somebody owes a nickel to the swear jar. Oh, do you know what I say when I feel like swearing? "Fudge."" I frowned when she said that and imagined my dad must have had a similar expression. _You know what I say when I feel like eating people? Oh right. I don't._

"I'll try and remember that!" My dad growled and I tried to focus on looking around the room from the cracked door. How was I going to get out there without them seeing me? I closed my eyes for a minute. _Lord Hermes… If you're listening, I could really use some sort of distraction right now. If we live, I promise I'll make an offering before bed tonight._

"You boys have no idea how lucky you are. There was a time when kids came from miles around, just to be sitting where you are." The God said while walking in front of Uncle Puppy with something in this hand. Pliers? What was he going to do with that?

"What do you think you're doing with those?" Sam asked and he sounded as panicked as I felt when I saw the God grab his hand. _Oh… He is so not doing that is he?_

"You fudging touch me again and I'll fudging kill you!" My dad shouted at the Goddess but I couldn't take my eyes off of Sam as The God placed the pliers on his finger.

"Very good!" I heard the Goddess compliment him in a condescending way, before my dad groaned in pain again. I couldn't just sit here, not while my dad and uncle were being hurt. I started to nudge the door a little further while the God _ripped_ out my uncle's finger nail. I winced at the sight. I swear Uncle Sammy, I'll fix that for you as soon as I get you guys out of here.

"Hmmm.. Madge. Do you smell that?" The God suddenly asked while sniffing the air and my eyes went wide and I pulled the door back a little.

"Must be all that meadowsweet getting to your nose." I heard her say and felt my heart trying to beat out of my chest.

"No." The God responded and looked over at the Goddess. "It smells… Good, just as good but different."

"Must be excited for our early dinner." The Goddess insisted and she looked at the bowl in his hand "What else, dear?" She asked, and I could hear something getting mixed in a wooden bowl. What else could they possibly need?!

"Well, let's see. Uh, fingernail, blood. Oh…" He hit his head and smiled at the Goddess. "Sweet Peter on a popsicle stick… I forgot the tooth!" I cringed as he said that. Ugh… Gross. These two were… ugh. After a moment, my eyes shifted over to check on Uncle Sammy and our eyes met. Damn, he noticed me. I saw him straighten up in his chair and his nostrils flare, as if he was about to shout at me to leave. Quickly, I brought my finger to my lips and signaled him to stay quiet. He looked away and tilted his head back and continued to act as if in pain. Well… I'm sure he wasn't completely acting…

"Oh, dear!" The goddess exclaimed and went back over to the table with their weird ritual ingredients.

"Merry Christmas, Sam." My dad forced out as Sam let out an exasperated groan. The God walked over to my dad with a pair of pliers and grabbed my dad's chin, and made him look up at his stupid God face. _No!_

"Open wide… and say, "Aaah."" _Please! No!_ I begged for something to happen! I had to help them! The God put the pliers into Dean's mouth and my Dad made a sound of protest. I could see the God start to pull as my heart was in my throat. Just then -the doorbell rang. _Thank you!_

"Somebody gonna get that?" My dad mumbled with the pliers in his mouth, the two Gods looked at one another and I saw Sam's shoulders release a little of their tension. "You should get that." My dad insisted.

"Come on." The God sighed and the two of them walked towards the door. _Lord Hermes, I seriously owe you one._ I heard my dad sigh in relief and then noticed the full on glare from my uncle as he tugged on his restraints. I could feel how badly he wanted to yell at me right now, but luckily- he couldn't. I pushed the door open and it creaked slightly making my dad try and turn his head, but he couldn't really move much. My uncle on the other hand tensed up more and shook his head at me.

"Shh." I whispered and carefully crawled across the floor with my knife and got beside my dad and uncle while Mr. and Mrs. "I need a fingernail and tooth" were at the door.

"Camilla?!" My dad whispered a little harshly and I saw his jaw set into a firm line. Clearly he wasn't happy to see me either, despite the fact that I was getting him out of this chair.

"I'll explain later!" I hissed and swiftly cut through the rope on their arms. After I did, I started to retreat to the basement, but the attempt was in vain, as my dad yanked my arm towards the other door way. _He should really treat his **savior** better than that._

"You stay right here with Sammy." My dad whispered in my ear after releasing the bruising grip on my arm and my uncle nodded at him and then immediately pulled me to his other side so that I was furthest from the door while my dad continued around the living room to where the God and Goddess were by the door. The front door closed and I glanced back at the kitchen just in time for Mr. and Mrs "God" to come in and see Sam and Dean were missing.

"Now, where were we?" I heard the "woman" ask, as Sam quickly closed the door on this side and leaned against it to keep it closed. I heard the other door slam as well. I helped Uncle Sam brace against the door as the two gods started banging on the door, trying to escape, then Dad suddenly appeared next to use and replaced me as a more meat-wall door brace.

"What do we do now? The evergreen stakes are in the basement!" Dean demanded.

"Well, we need more evergreen, Dean!" Sam snapped back and then glanced over to the _enormous_ Christmas tree sitting off to the side in the living room next to a very _plastic_ couch. "I think I just found us some more. Help me get this." We all moved the cabinet in front of the door and pushed the Christmas tree over. They quickly began to break branches from the tree to use as makeshift stakes. Despite the commotion I felt like my senses almost sharpened for a second, and it was like everything slowed down for a minute. There was my dad and uncle breaking apart a Christmas tree and the banging… The banging stopped.

"Dad!" I shouted when my dad got up with a branch in his hand and not even a second later the male God came barreling into the room and slammed right into Dean. I screamed as they tumbled towards the floor and immediately ran over with my knife in hand. I didn't think before I was jumping onto the God's back and slamming my knife into his shoulder. He screeched in pain and with more strength that I thought was possible he threw his head and shoulders back and felt myself slip from his back.

"I thought I could smell something else back there!" He shouted as he rose, and turned towards me. I tried to rush him again, but the God seemed to anticipate what I was planning this time and he threw his arm out and hit me hard enough to send me back into the wall. I felt my head bounce when I hit the wall and I sort of just crumbled towards the floor. My knife laid a few feet away and I grabbed my head. It felt like the back of my skull just shattered, but luckily I didn't feel any blood.

"Madge!" The male God yelled, and I looked up as Sam pushed the stake into the Goddess' chest and she let out a soft groan of pain. My dad didn't lose the opportunity to knock the God off of himself and then immediately took to stabbing the man repeatedly in the chest. I sort of grimaced at the sight and watched the God fall to the floor next to the unmoving Goddess. I felt… Confused…. They weren't moving and sort of looked like they were dead but... how? How did two mortals kill two Gods? They couldn't have… Could they? I felt my thoughts spiral a little into the how and the why of that statement when my uncle suddenly spoke up. It was quiet but enough to catch my attention.

"Merry Christmas." Sam panted and looked over at Dad. _Rude, I just saved your life and you're not going to thank me?_ I quietly asked myself as Dad smiled for a brief moment and sighed.

"Merry Christmas." I panted in response and saw my dad and uncle both turn and look at me while I rubbed my aching head. "I know," I tried to catch my breath. "I'm the best gift you could have received." I panted and heard my dad chuckle, despite the situation.

"Don't think you're getting out of this." My uncle scolded and I pouted.

"It's Christmas. You know, the time for _forgiveness._ " I tried but my dad just shook his head.

"You are beyond grounded." My dad said and I sighed while leaning back against the wall. _I mean, they could at least try to be more grateful._ My dad walked over and reached his hand down to me and helped me stand up. "For now, get outside. We are getting out of here." My dad said and nudged me to walk around the two bodies on the floor and out the door. My uncle opened the back door to the impala and I climbed in. Not even a minute later the door slammed closed and I saw them both climb into the car too. I leaned my head against the window and the cool glass felt amazing. With a sigh I closed my eyes and let my mind wonder as the car roared to life. _I'm forgetting something…_ My eyes snapped open as my dad started to pull away from the curb.

"The guy!" I shouted, causing both of them to jump.

"The guy? What guy?" My dad asked and I hit the back of his seat.

"The guy in the basement! He was hurt and he's waiting down there!" I shouted and felt the car suddenly jerk to a complete stop.

 **Author's Note: And there it is. The end to the chaos of the Supernatural Christmas. We may have a brief discussion of gifts at the beginning of next chapter as Camilla goes back to Bobby's house with Sam and Dean in tow. Until then here are some responses to comments, trivia, and a question.**

 **Crazzytony: thank you for clearing that up for us! We are glad we were able to answer your question and that you enjoyed the last update.**

 **Ylnadiir: We shall see what Camilla got Sam and Dean next chapter. Your guess is a good one though! We don't think Dean would care too much about it being a Pagan holiday, but Camilla tends to worry (and yes, she resents that statement).**

 **WeylandCorp 4: to be honest we also forgot about the Christmas episode, and we thought this one was going to be the Witches, but alas... we were wrong and so we improvised with the slight surprise. We do hope you enjoyed this though.**

 **Joann18Joker: neither can we! We hope the wait was worth it for this chapter, and we hope you had fun reading.**

 **AACM25: now we already addressed this concern to you privately, but I do want to clear it up for anyone else who may have had the same question. So we hope you don't mind us repeating what we had said earlier. We mislead a few of our readers last chapter and so we want to clarify that we do not intend to write Camilla as a character who would barge in on other people's quests. She is a good character but not that good in terms of fighting for strategy. So the last chapter was always about her going to help Sam and Dean because she feels like that is the one thing she can help with.**

 ** _General note to all readers_ : As always we really appreciate all comments left to us, and that includes any criticism. If something is unclear or you feel confused we want you to tell us, because that way we can try and fix it in the future and keep those types of things in mind. So thank you so much for the reviews and we hope you continue to read the story.**

 **\- A & J**

 _ **Question:**_ **When do you think Camilla will find out about Dean dying, and how do you think she will take it?**

 _ **Trivia:**_ **In early drafts of this story Camilla was going to be about eight years old, and we were going to start this somewhere in season six. However we changed our minds because Season 3 was easier to drop her into and we wanted her to be on better terms with Sam before he has no soul.**


	21. Chapter 20

Author's Note **: hey everyone, sorry that this chapter is a day late but J and I got home pretty late last night and just didn't have time to update. J and I are trying to get better about our update times however it's probably going to be a little sporadic, but we will try our best to post around the two to three week mark. We hope that you guys enjoy this chapter as it's an in between moment following a Very Supernatural Christmas and just before Malleus Maleficarum. As always we love any feedback that you all have for us regarding the story and Camilla's development so please leave us reviews!**

 **Chapter 20**

 **"Just a Girl"**

"You realize that you're grounded right?" My dad said from the driver's seat and I groaned while leaning back. This was going to be a _long_ drive. Maybe I should have just shipped myself back to Bobby's while I sort of had the chance. At least then I could have avoided this lecture for a little while longer, but then there was the fact that I would have had to face Bobby alone and that was even less appealing. "I don't even understand how the hell you got there in the first place! In the basement too of all places." Dad grumbled.

"Christmas is a season of miracles." I said cheerily and saw my Uncle turn and give me a look. One that practically screamed that I wasn't funny, which is silly, because I'm hilarious.

"You could have been hurt!" Uncle Puppy joined in on the lecture and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

"Well… you guys were tied up and looked to me like you guys were in more danger than I was." I treaded carefully.

"We had a handle on it." Dad reassured. "Sam and I were going to be fine." He said sternly which to me felt a lot like BS frankly. I mean how much of a handle could they have when they were tied to a chair and nails were being popped off? Not to mention a tooth was about to get yanked out, and it was only set back because I prayed to Lord Hermes. Yeah, that really is having a handle on things. I mentally rolled my eyes at the comment but tried to remind myself that it was better to not to get into it with them. Saying that it was clearly not handled was probably just going to spark a larger fight.

"Still didn't seem like it was _handled_ to me." I continued, because when did I ever listen to myself? "I got you guys out, and I'm sorry if I worried you while doing it, but I wanted to make sure you guys were okay. Bobby was talking about Pagan Gods and I didn't know how it was going to go, and I got nervous." I babbled, and heard Sam sigh, and my dad rubbed his forehead. _Just remember friends, when all else fails using guilt is always an option. They cannot want to maim you for these things if you subtly-or not so subtly-point out that this was done out of concern, and love._

"I understand, Camilla. Believe me, I get it better than most people would. It doesn't change the fact that you shouldn't have come." My dad glanced at me in the rear-view mirror when he said that and I heard my uncle scoff a little. Which was quickly responded to by a look my dad gave him and it sort of confused me… In the recent weeks that I have been spending with them I started to notice things, and one of them was when their emotional states would shift from person to person. I mean I could feel when they were mad or aggravated with me, and when they were with one another. So… Why did that scoff feel like it was directed to my dad and not me? _I'm_ the one getting lectured here.

"Sam and I had it handled." My dad interrupted my train of thought and I sighed a little. I wanted to argue but honestly I knew that I couldn't. My argument wouldn't matter much and they've already dug in their heels. If I've learned anything about these two, was that they were incredibly stubborn, (must run in the family). No matter how clear I tried to make it that I am a trained, or a semi-trained warrior in my own right. Capture the flag in camp was taken super seriously and I have had more close calls with the Ares kids than I did in the Ginger-Bread house from hell. Some people didn't spend their childhood trying not to step on landmines in the woods and it showed.

"There is still something that is bothering me." My uncle interrupted the slight memory of when I got blasted into a tree when I was ten, and so I shook my head and tried to pay attention to whatever he was going on about now. "I mean I get that you rushed down because you were nervous but _how you got there_ is what's bugging me." My uncle said while twisting in his seat to fully look me in the eye. "How did you get in the basement?" He asked, seeming to be a _lot_ more calm than before, and look in a way I could only describe as: "The Athena Kid" look. He'd totally be in cabin 6.

"I can't really talk about it… Let's just say that Demi-Gods have ways to travel from place to place that are… unconventional." I lightly fibbed. Didn't feel like explaining the confusing and odd system that is Hermes Express. Or the fact that I almost took a cab that was driven by three women with only one eye, and that they didn't have the most trust or like for Demi-Gods… Yeah, I think that maybe this was a conversation that really needed to happen at a later date: like never'o'clock.

"And it just happened to put you right in their basement?" Sam eyed me suspiciously, and I did my best to shrug nonchalantly.

"The Gods work in mysterious ways." I smiled, and I swear they both sighed at the same time, in the exact same way. It was both oddly funny and kinda creepy.

"Well, no sense in taking you back to Bobby's right now. It's late and it's already Christmas, so might as well stick around until tomorrow." My dad thought out loud. My uncle nodded and I saw his shoulders slump a little, and it started to occur to me just how tired they looked. "We'll leave in the morning, ya?"

"Yes!" I said cheerily and then suddenly it dawned on me… It was Christmas and their gifts… they were at Bobby's. I sort of deflated a little when I realized that little fact. I really wanted to give it to them Christmas morning but at this rate it wasn't going to happen. I'd be lucky if I was able to give them the gifts by Christmas night.

"What's with the long face?" My dad asked as he pulled into a motel. "You were the one who Demi-God traveled yourself all the way here remember?" My dad got out of the car and I followed him out.

"I'm not sad that I'm here. I really wanted to spend Christmas with you and Uncle Sammy, because you know… It's the first one." I said and saw how his face got strained at that, and I walked over and wrapped my arms around him and hugged my dad as tightly as I could. "You don't have to feel bad daddy." I muttered into his chest.

"You don't know that." He sighed and patted my back.

"Yeah I do. I know that you're feeling guilty daddy. I can tell." I looked up at him and saw his eyebrows sort of pull together in a look of confusion and concern. "It's a Aphrodite kid thing." I answered the unspoken question.

"Aphrodite's kids can read emotions?" Sammy asked and I sort of shrugged. I mean some of the kids could do it better than others, and we had a real life love meter in our brains that went off whenever we were around people with romantic interests.

"Yeah, or sort of gage a feeling I guess. Only when they're fairly strong and we can also tell if someone has a crush or something along those lines." I explained and felt my dad stiffen while I was still practically snuggling into him. "My point is that I can feel that my dad is feeling guilty and he doesn't have to. I know that you weren't there for the last Christmas I had, or even the one before that, but you don't need to feel bad. You didn't know about me and I didn't know you either." I said and hugged him again. Well I knew _of_ him, just not who he was. Point stands: he didn't know _I_ existed until literally a month ago.

"Oh baby girl," My dad muttered into my hair when he leaned down to hug me. "You have no idea how guilty I am." I heard him mutter lowly, and I felt my heart sort of broke, because I didn't want him to feel guilty. Not all all.

"I have gifts!" I smiled while trying to desperately defuse the guilt that was gnawing at my dad. "Well I do have them but they aren't here. You know, I left them at Bobby's when I was coming this way. I wish I didn't but what's a girl gonna do? I didn't really think it all through before I just sort of shipped myself out here." I babbled on and heard my dad let out a dry chuckle.

"You got us gifts?" Uncle Puppy asked. "And what do you mean "shipped"?" I beamed at him happily and nodded my head.

"Of course I did!" I said excitedly, ignoring his question, and they both chuckled, but this time it didn't feel as dry or laced with sadness like before. That only made me grin even more, because that meant it was working.

"Well, working on this case has eaten up some shopping time, so how about we get some eggnog and a makeshift tree and try to salvage what we can?" Uncle Puppy suggested. "Better late than never, right?"

"Great idea." I agreed.

"Since you are the one with an eye for these things, why don't you decorate with what you can, and Sam and I will be right back?" Dad asked.

"Absolutely!" I smiled. It was time for a new Christmas memory. Too bad Ms. Lucas couldn't be in this one too. I skipped into the motel and ran around to some places in the surrounding area to pick up or "borrow" some holiday-looking stuff to put together something that some-what looked like a dinky little Christmas tree.

At some point, I had walked passed a small diner and a lightbulb broke in my brain. I need to offer to Hermes! I immediately went inside and gave a smile to the hostess.

"Hi dear, just you yourself today?" She asked, picking up some silverware and a menu. She was adorable with her chocolate pigtails and red lipstick. Her uniform was mostly white with a red trim, and she wore a red headband that kept most of her hair back, but her side swept bangs were oh-so cute. She tied up her white uniform shirt into a crop top and her physique and complexion were _goals_.

"Ah, no, thank you. Can I just get a plate of the special and slice of pie to go?" I asked super sweetly.

"Of course, hun." She smiled and walked over to cook's window. After about ten minutes she walked over with two to-go boxes. "Anything else?" She asked, with a perfectly white smile. I coaxed her into giving me the food for free and quickly dashed out, and back to the motel and did the same thing I had done previously with the scarf. I scrapped out half the dinner and the _entire_ apple pie slice and gave my thanks to Hermes for letting me abuse his mail system. I resumed putting together a tree right after.

By the time I was done tying together some broken evergreen branches and hanging on a small string of lights and garnish, it looked pretty decent. I mean, it wasn't going to win any awards like the tree in the last God's home (judge me all you want, evil gods or not that tree was _immaculate_ ), but it was better than the stick tree in _A Charlie Brown Christmas_ by a mile. I even found some evergreen air fresheners to hang on it to make it smell better, AND _two_ ornaments. I felt pretty proud of my accomplishment.

I awaited, anxious and excited, for Dad and Uncle Puppy to walk through the door and after a short while, they did. Both of them wearing santa hats, and had one for me too. I happily donned it and fixed my hair appropriately. Uncle Sammy sat in front of the T.V and began taking out something from a bag. One was definitely eggnog, but the other one I didn't recognize. Dad walked over and gave me a tight hug, almost like he was afraid to ever let go, and I returned it with a squeeze. I never wanted this moment to end.

"Here, open it. This is from me." He said, handing me the most _heinously_ wrapped present on the face of the planet. Done with newspaper, of course. I loved it.

"Okay." I readily accepted and tore it open, (not that I really needed to tear it, it was barely even taped together) to reveal chocolate, and fancy gas station bar soap. I smiled and gave him another squeeze. I felt him hug me back and I felt a tap on my shoulder as Uncle Sammy was holding out another badly wrapped, (though not as bad as Dad's) present. Also in newspaper. I squealed and ripped it apart as well. More chocolate, and gas station hand lotion. I smiled and could feel the tears well up in my eyes. "Well, I do enjoy being soft and clean." I choked out, with a smile. (A girls best friend is chocolate." I continued and ripped open a chocolate bar.

"Wait, we have one more for you." Dad started, and went over to the coffee table Uncle Sam was fiddling with and came back over with three glasses of what looked like eggnog. "Your first drink with your dad." He said, almost proudly.

"Wait, really?" I asked, surprised. My dad nodded and handed me the cup. I gingerly took it and took a quick sip. It tasted like burning and I wanted to cry instantly from just the aftertaste it left in my mouth. Apparently I don't know how to chase alcohol because I just took another sip to get rid of the first sip and repeated. Which only made the first one feel a lot worse than before, and I heard my dad start laughing while my uncle grabbed a juice and handed it over to me.

"Nice try buttercup." My dad snickered and watched me gulp down the juice.

"How do you guys like this stuff?" I asked while watching my dad and uncle both get their own cups of the awful tasting eggnog. I wrinkled my nose at them and made a face, trying to understand.

"Used to it I guess." My uncle shrugged and worked on trying to dilute the alcohol that was in my cup with more of the eggnog. I winced when I drank more of it but it wasn't as awful as before. How adults got used to drinking this stuff was weird, because why would you intentionally put something awful tasting in your body on repeat? Guess I'll never know, or really know why I felt the need to try and finish my drink. Maybe it was a pride thing.

"Slow down there, Princess." My dad said while I tried to down my awful tasting drink. That only made me cough a little and gag at the after taste.

"No, I got it." I forced a grin and saw my dad raised an eyebrow.

"If you insist, Princess." He smirked while pouring more into my now empty cup and I sort of stared at the liquid in betrayal. There was no way I was going to let him win and so I forced that one down too, much to both of their amusement.

I watched tiredly as they sat across from me and opened each others gifts, still a little sad I didn't bring my own, but what's done is done. There was always tomorrow and I was certain that they were going to love the gifts that I got them. I smiled to myself and leaned back against the couch while my uncle laughed about a "skin mag", whatever that was. Sentences ran together and words were faint in my ears as I slowly started to drift off. The last thing I consciously registered was the cup being taken from my hand and I was lifted up from the armchair. I think someone tried to mutter something close to my ear but I can't remember what.

I woke up and my head felt a little fuzzy and I sort of groaned a little and curled into my pillows. Everything felt a little too quiet and I sort of whimpered while forcing my eyes open, and everything still felt a little groggy. Eggnog was really just not my thing it seemed. Although I did not feel sick, so I guess I wasn't hungover as a result, which was good because somehow I feel like that would have amused my dad even more than he was before. I stretched my toes out from under the blanket and briefly acknowledged that I had to go to the bathroom. However, the idea of getting up and walking over to the bathroom seemed like way too much effort. So I just sort of laid there and mentally worked on psyching myself up to go find the dingy little bathroom in the room.

I felt a light breeze on my skin and rolled a little to my side and saw that the sliding door to the patio was open and could vaguely make out the two silhouettes that belonged to my dad and uncle. You really couldn't miss the two of them given how they were both gigantic. From what little I could tell from how the porch light was on it seemed like they were still drinking which was impressive, because I had like a cup and a half and I passed out on the spot. With a light groan, at my persistent bladder, I kicked the blankets off of me.

Rubbing my eyes, I slid out of bed without making much of a sound. I started to gravitate towards the bathroom when an odd feeling sort of hit me from out of left field. It wasn't exactly a feeling I could really understand either. It was this weird mixture of sadness, anger, guilt, and… was it longing? I really couldn't interpret what I was reading from the two of them but it made me stop in my tracks. My curiosity and concern was piqued and I shuffled quietly over towards the patio door and saw that my dad and uncle were sitting out there, with a mug in each of their hands and the two of them speaking in low whispers. I crouched down by the cracked patio door and tried to listen in on their conversation. _Were we going on another case?_ I wondered absentmindedly, and sort of hoped that wasn't the case. I really wanted to give them their gifts tomorrow.

"I don't deserve a kid like her." I heard my dad say and despite the amount they've been drinking, which I assumed was a lot, it didn't seem like he was slurring his words at all.

"Yeah. She's pretty special." My uncle seemingly nodded in agreement and my dad shook his head at his response. I sort of leaned my head against the wall and watched them talk from where I was crouched down. It felt nice to be appreciated for how awesome I really was.

"No. I mean it's more than that Sammy." My dad took a large drink from his cup and set it down while my uncle poured him more. "There's this… this light or spark that's in her and it's incredible. She believes so deeply in helping people or trying to push herself into a hero role. You know she didn't hesitate to help Bela, and do you remember what she said?" My dad chuckled a little under his breath. "I wanted to let that bitch rot, and whatever happened just happens you know? Camilla stood in front of all of us and said, _"no."_ that letting her die wasn't how we did things, that it wasn't what she does and what wasn't what I do either." My dad rambled on and my uncle chuckled. I smiled to myself and wondered if he knew how nervous I was to confront him on that issue when Bela was standing there. How long it took me to find it in myself to have my voice back.

"You both looked shocked when she said that, and then she told Bela to sit down because we needed to find a way to save her." My dad and uncle laughed. I sort of smiled and continued to listen to them.

"That's not something that you can teach someone to do you know?" My dad said and shook his head. "She's just a good kid. She cares about people and even though she comes off a little shallow at times you can just tell that she has a good heart." He said proudly and I decided to ignore the _shallow_ comment. After all he was mostly praising me and I wasn't going to let the little off-handed insult ruin that for me.

"She's smart too, and in a different way. She's resourceful and almost… manipulative at times. Is that the word I'm looking for? Gah… I don't know, but she does this thing. You know the thing? She wiggles her way into your heart and you don't even know she's there until you're too far gone." My dad took another drink. "I'd kill her for Sam. She's incredible and I don't know what I ever did to deserve to have a kid like that." There was a moment of silence after that and I started to push myself up from the floor. I still had to pee and it seemed like this conversation was probably just going to be gushing about stuff. I don't think my dad wanted me to listen in on his little _"chick-flick"_ moment.

"I look at her Sammy and all I can think of is: "what do I do?" This is it for me and I don't know what to do." Dad said and I sort of stopped at the way his voice soured and the way guilt seemed to fill the area all around us. I turned back towards the patio and saw how his shoulders were slumped and how Sammy seemed to sit up a little straighter.

"You can't keep hiding or avoiding it Dean." My uncle said and shifted closer to my dad. "You have to tell her." He insisted and I felt my brows pull together and I moved closer to the door. This seemed important.

"Ha." My dad shook his head. "How do I do that Sam? Huh? How in the hell am I supposed to tell her anything? It's going to crush her." He growled out and I sort of felt rooted to the spot I was in. My dad's voice had taken on an edge and my uncle squared his shoulders almost in response.

"I suggest you figure it out before too long. It can't go on like this Dean, and she has a right to know what's happening to you." My uncle said sternly and my dad shook his head while getting to his feet.

"No!" My dad snapped. "She doesn't have to know a damn thing."

"The hell she doesn't Dean!" My uncle snapped back while rising to his feet as well. I held my breath watching them face off against each other. "She has every right to know what is happening to you! You can't hide it, and keeping her in the dark is not the same as protecting her. It is only going to make it sting a lot more."

"I can't tell her Sam." My dad's voice still had the same edge to it but at the same time he almost sounded like he was pleading. Why was he pleading and what about? What didn't they-or I guess what did my dad not want to tell me? "I just can't… I can't look at her and tell her that this is the last Christmas that we're going to have together." My dad slumped and sat back down and drank whatever was left in his cup.

I on the other hand felt myself stumble back a few steps. I just…. I couldn't understand what was happening. What did he even mean? Last Christmas together? I felt my chest tighten and I tried to force myself to breathe while I backed myself into the bathroom door and hit the lightswitch on. I pushed the door a little quickly and distantly heard it slam. My head was spinning and I gripped the counter and stared down at the porcelain white of the sink. _Last Christmas… Last Christmas… Last Christmas…_

"Camilla?" I heard a voice outside of my door but it felt far away. Like it was miles away from me and starting to get drowned out by the waves that seemed to crash all around me. I was overwhelmed… I felt everything and nothing all at once, and I don't even know how. Guilt, anger, grief, disappointment, longing, happiness, worry, and yet it all felt like it was just barely on the outside of me. Surrounding me and poking at an invisible wall that I didn't even know was there. My breaths were getting shorter and I everything seemed to start to drift in and out of focus around me.

"Camilla!" The door knob twisted and twisted but it didn't open. The lights felt brighter all the sudden and I couldn't breathe. My lungs just weren't taking in the oxygen no matter how quickly or desperately I gasped for air. Was I drowning? How was I drowning? _Thud!_ The door knob was forgotten and I could hear him slamming into the wooden door and it groaned in protest. Was it my dad? Why was he banging on the door? My vision was spotting and I could see the little dark edges that were steadily closing in all around me. _Slam!_ I heard the wood smack against the wall and then there were hands on me, and I felt everything. Like a wave washing over me and I started to sob. I couldn't tell who I was sobbing for though; was it me or was it for him?

"Shh... " I felt his hand brush through my hair and one of the emotions overlapped everything else. He was worried, or maybe even a little scared, and somehow it clicked that this had to be my dad. I just…. I knew. Don't ask me how I knew that it was him but I did, almost like this emotion was something that could only belong to him.

"I knew we shouldn't have let her have that much eggnog." I heard my uncle say but he still felt far away. Here it was just my dad and I stranded in a sea of worry and guilt.

"You think?" My dad asked sarcastically and as the edges of darkness closed in on me, but I didn't even try to fight it off. No, this time I just completely I surrendered to it and hoped that it would turn off all of the emotions. It worked.

~*~*~*~*~ Point of View Shift: Winchesters ~*~*~*~*~

"What the hell even happened to her?" Dean asked while he carried his daughter out of the bathroom. When he set her down on the bed he felt his brow furrow at the tears that stained her face. Getting up, he grabbed a tissue and started to wipe the tears and felt her curl into herself a little.

"Probably the alcohol." Sam said while walking over and sitting by his brother to look at his niece. "Sometimes alcohol can cause people to get anxiety, and depending on what they drink they might have different effects." He explained and Dean sighed. Just Sammy being a nerd again.

"Great so we learned that Camilla can't have whiskey then." He shook his head. "Good luck cause every hunter I know drinks whiskey."

"It's probably also because she's a little girl." Sam offered and Dean nodded.

"Yeah, the first time you had alcohol you were a little girl too." Dean joked and Sam rolled his eyes and looked down at his niece again. Seeing most of the tears were cleaned from her cheeks he relaxed a little and got off of the bed.

"Well, now that the crisis has been averted I'm going to leave you to look after your daughter." Sam said while getting up.

"What? What if she starts crying again?" Dean asked a little panicked. Sam turned and smirked a little.

"Then this is your opportunity to earn your scout badge." Sam chuckled to himself. "Pat her back, give her a hug, and if you think she won't throw it up then give her a piece of chocolate." He said while collapsing onto his bed. Tomorrow was going to be a long drive back to Bobby's.

"She's not a puppy Sam!" Dean looked rather unamused and Sam just laughed.

"That's why the chocolate won't kill her." Sam joked while closing his eyes.

 **Author's Note** **: and there we have it! Camilla is starting to learn a few things and hopefully when she's awake she'll start asking some questions given what she overheard.**

 **Trey Alexander: actually your theory is pretty spot on when it comes to the Greek/Roman God's power level. They are more powerful than the more forgotten Pegan Gods and they're still very spoken about and studied, but not necessarily believed in by the same number of people who believe in other religions. That and I think to try and avoid being on the Hunter radar they likely changed over the past several centuries in terms of offerings (hence why Camilla would offer fabric or food, but not blood or flesh).**

 **Qwerty.90472: we love her too and of course Camilla loves you for thinking so highly of her. She is super fun because she's not necessarily weak and training with Sam and Dean will make her stronger, but at the same time she's still very in touch with the attributes she gets from her mom. I think Camilla always wanted in on the hunts but she was too afraid of being shipped away by Sam and Dean that she avoided doing so, but she was always a little pushy. This last time it involved other Gods and from her knowledge you can't "kill" a God and so she panicked and rushed into the hunt because she can't bare to lose them. That and she's becoming more bold as time goes on, but quests are different. You are chosen for a quest but you can choose to hunt. As for Darleen and Dean... I wouldn't worry too much because Dean just isn't Darleen's type, but we will get into that some other time.**

 **WeylandCorp4: haha yeah that's why we didn't start there. Camilla was also almost Sam's daughter but we liked the idea of her being Dean's more. Granted if she was Sam's kid she likely would have been part of Athena's cabin, but we enjoy that she's an Aphrodite girl.**

 _ **Question:**_ **Do you think Camilla will ever surpass Dean in height like Sam did?**

 _ **Trivia:**_ **Camilla is actually fairly tall for her age at 12, she's roughly 5'2 and the average height is around 4'9.**


	22. Chapter 21

**Author's Note: OH MY GOD A NEW CHAPTER! Thank you all so much for being patient and waiting for us to get this chapter out. These last few months have been insane and we're incredibly sorry we didn't post for a couple months. We are going to try our best to stick with our schedule but we are unfortunately going to be a little unpredictable with which Wednesdays those will be. We're gearing up to move soon and there's a lot going on with that. Again, we will try our best but we apologize in advance if we go radio silent for a month or again for waiting and enjoy! As usual if there are any comments, questions, or concerns feel free to contact us.**

 **-A &J**

 **Chapter 21**

 **"To the End"**

When I started to open my eyes again I winced at the bright light that was glaring down on me. Apollo just couldn't let today be gloomy, could he? Was a little cloud cover and maybe some rain too much to ask? Using what little energy I felt I had I forced my arm to move over my eyes. My head was pulsing still and I could feel bile rising in my throat, and the fact that I was moving was so not helping me. That, mixed with the familiar stench of man stink, it was a miracle that I wasn't already puking. With a groan I rolled onto my side and stared down at the floor and tried to remember when I even fell asleep.

"Hey! She's awake!" My dad shouted excitedly and my hands flew up to my head in an attempt to stop the sudden increase of pulsing. As if there was some way that I could block out his loud and obnoxious voice after he already started yelling.

"What the hell! Do you really have to shout? There is such a thing as inside voices you know!" I complained.

"Oh, and hungover." Uncle Puppy chimed in from the front seat. It did not help my already increasingly sour mood when I could clearly hear the pure amusement in his voice. Apparently my pain and suffering was funny to these two chuckle-heads. So I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and give him a very unkind hand gesture, because somehow I felt like it was only going to make my head explode even more.

"For all that is good in this world will the two of you please shut up?" I growled out.

"Ok, sorry, sorry." Dad chuckled as I could feel the car come to a stop. A sigh a breath of relief escaped my lips. Then, I remembered why I was in the state in the first place.

"This is all your fault…" I muttered.

"Our fault?" My uncle asked, but it didn't sound concerned at all. If anything he sounded even more amused about my condition, the jerk.

"You were the one who let me drink that stuff." I huffed a little and tried to sort out my thoughts. I knew I drank a little but everything was coming back in pieces, and I could get the fuzzy image of the two of them sitting outside talking. What were they talking about again? Was it something gloomy because it felt like it should have been raining in my memory, you know, to set the scene.

"I don't think you were resisting that much, and in fact you seemed more than thrilled to have some eggnog." My dad laughed. "I know the perfect cure though for what you're going through." He said and I lifted my head a little to look at him.

"Please tell me you're not about to say something stupid." I said half heartedly while my mind scrambled to remember whatever it was that upset me before.

"A big greasy burger. One with extra bacon and tomato." My dad said and I grimaced at the very thought of it and momentarily forgot about whatever it was I was trying to conjure up in my head.

"I thought I said not to tell me something stupid." I said and my dad scoffed.

"Hey. A hamburger is not stupid and you have got to trust me on what I say tastes the best after a night of drinking." He sounded proud at that last part, as if there was some pride in his statement. I just rolled my eyes and then closed them when it made the ache worse.

"Agree to disagree. Greasy sounds like a wonderful way to throw up everything that is not in my stomach." I said and heard him scoff again. I mentally rolled my eyes again at his childish antics. Honestly, I was supposed to be the child here and yet here was my dad practically pouting because I said that greasy food was both unhealthy and gross.

"Alright Princess," my dad started and I tilted my head and forced my eyes back open to look at the back of his seat. "Since you don't want to go into this diner and eat good hangover food what do you suggest?" He asked.

"Salad." My uncle and I said at the same time and I almost laughed.

"Bunch of rabbits, I swear, the lot of you." My dad grumbled and I heard the car doors open as he got out with my uncle.

"More like people who make healthy life decisions." I quipped while he was shutting (sounded more like slamming to me) his car door. Somewhere in the back of my mind the image of my dad sitting on the concrete outside on the balcony of the hotel room started to come back. I tried to focus and zone in on the little fuzzy memories that were playing in my head but it all felt like it was just a repeat of the same information. They were outside, and dad was upset about something… I couldn't hear any voices or conversations in my memory but I could feel it. There was anger and there was guilt, and even without remembering what it was about I knew it was there.

I contemplated just laying in the car longer, and maybe just not going in all together. I couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong and I could still feel it floating in the air all around me. In my gut I felt uneasy and upset, but I just couldn't place where the feeling came from and part of me was afraid that if I kept digging I was going to find out that I regretted doing so. Even though it was my memory it still felt too private, and it was like I was intruding, even for me. Yet there was an opposite and bigger side of me that just insisted that I had to know.

I wasn't ready to go into the diner and eat whatever gods-awful food my dad was planning on putting in front of me. I was too close to scratching at the little wall in my mind, and if I went in there I was just going to get distracted by whatever nonsense my dad was going to be ranting on about. I didn't get to dwell on it for long though because before I knew it the door near my head was swinging open. Had I not have decent reflexes- even when I'm hungover- I would have definitely hit my head somewhere and I would not be a fun time.

"Must you be so barbaric?" I asked my dad as he reached into his car and grabbed my arms to force me from the backseat. I swatted at his hands while I sat up in the seat and glanced at myself in the rearview mirror. "Yeah, that's gonna be a no from me." I said looking at the wild puffs of hair that were everywhere and the fact that my eyes were a little puffy. "I'm gonna need a minute, or sixty."

"Camilla." My dad sighed and I put my hand up to silence him before he could argue. Now, maybe he could roll out of bed and walk into a diner and feel nothing but that was not me. The fact that I was placed in the car with bed-head was already a sin in and of itself.

"Nope. You and Uncle Puppy can go inside and get a table. I need to do some major work here." I stated and he rolled his eyes at me.

"You're twelve Camilla. Run a brush through your hair and you can brush your teeth after breakfast." Dad argued anyways.

"Now that would be a disgrace to my mother and my cabin." I retorted, "I'm serious. I need a few minutes to pull myself together into the cute and adorable girl that you know because this whole Frankenstein's daughter thing just isn't working for me." I said and I swear my uncle sighed in sync with my dad, which was rather impressive to say the least. Regardless I flicked my wrist once again to wave them off.

"Fine. You have ten minutes before I come back out here to drag you from the car." My dad warned and I placed a hand over my heart in mock injury.

"I am flattered by your belief that I can work miracles like that, but I'm gonna need at least thirty minutes." I said.

"Ten." My dad said again and I sighed.

"Dad, perfection is not something that can be rushed. It must be nurtured. Would you tell a rose to bloom faster?" I said. "However I hear your argument so I will decrease my time to twenty-seven minutes."

"This is not a debate. So you either get ten minutes or you get to come out here now." My dad warned.

"Like I said a miracle requires some time and maybe a little bit of praying for my mother's guidance on how to exterminate this rats nest that has taken up residence on my head." I said and my dad blinked.

"Now you have five minutes. Do you want to turn it into zero?" My dad asked and I groaned.

"Fine. I'll be inside the diner in ten short minutes." I relented and my dad smiled while tapping the roof of his car.

"That's my girl. See you in a few, Princess." My dad said while he walked inside with my uncle.

"I'll take a strawberry lemonade!" I called after them and rolled my eyes again and was pleased to know that it hurts less to do this time. Eye rolling was my signature tween move and without it I just simply would not be complete. Pulling my duffel off of the floor and searching through it I found my brush, and a cardigan that I could put over my tank top and shorts. After a gruelling and solid fifteen minutes of wrestling with my hair, I managed to turn the rats nest into something that resembled a messy bun. Next was I careful to pull on the cardigan without causing another splitting headache. I then attempted to fix my eyeliner to make me look less like a sad raccoon, (somewhat successful). I considered pushing my luck further and change my outfit into something that seemed less lazy, but I had a feeling my dad was about two seconds from coming out here to find me since I was a little late on the "promised" time.

So with a slight sigh and a final straightening out of my cardigan I got out of my dad's car and locked the door. Then I triple checked that the door was actually locked because if it wasn't and someone stole my dad's car, he would kill me. With the final tug on the handle I walked over to the diner and nudged the door open with my shoulder. My dad was sitting across from my uncle in a booth and they were talking in what looked like suspicious whispers even from all the way over here. Something about the view of the two of them sitting there and talking with serious looks on their faces stirred something in my memory.

She has every right to know what is happening to you! You can't hide it, and keeping her in the dark is not the same as protecting her. It is only going to make it sting a lot more.

My uncle's voice was ringing in my ears and the phrase just kept repeating in my head. He thought I had the right to know something… That something was happening to my dad and my uncle thought that I had a right to know about it. So why wouldn't they just tell me… I barely acknowledged my uncle looking up and making eye contact with me from across the diner. I felt completely rooted to where I was standing near the hostess station.

"Is it just one for you sweetheart?" I heard the young woman at the station say and I turned and looked at her for a moment.

"I… Um no. My dad and my uncle… They're already here." I mumbled but I didn't sound all that confident.

"Camilla!" My dad shouted while he was turned around in his seat to wave me over to him. He was smiling at me but I felt like a wave just crashed over me. I felt cold and my arms broke out into goosebumps, and I guess it was showing on my face too because I saw his smile fading away.

I can't tell her Sam. I just… I can't look at her and tell her that this is the last Christmas that we're going to have together.

My dad's voice was echoing in my head and I felt my panic resurface. I turned on my heel and threw the door back open and quickly made it out of the diner. I immediately headed towards the street and just walked across without even stopping to make sure there weren't cars. I heard some tires screech loudly but nothing hit me and I didn't even look up. My gaze stayed glued to the ground as I felt my face heating up and tears were prinkling my eyes.

"Camilla!" I heard my dad shout out but I didn't turn around and instead continued across the street. "Camilla what the hell are you doing?!" I heard his boots hitting against the concrete and I gritted my teeth and felt anger starting to take over. What was I doing? What was HE doing keeping secrets?! I didn't get a chance to retort or to shout back before I felt him grabbing ahold of my arm and yanking me back towards him. When I looked up my dad was a mixture of worry and anger. "You could have gotten hit! Are you out of your mind?!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! I just- I couldnt-" I tried to scramble somewhat of a sentence together that made sense. I was extremely unsuccessful.

"You couldn't what Camilla? What's wrong? Tell me" He pushed and I looked into his eyes and I couldn't help but shout.

"Why is this going to be the last Christmas we'll ever spend?!" I snapped at him and felt his grip loosen on my arm and his face was contorted into a shocked expression. With a hard tug I pulled myself completely from his hand. "Didn't think I'd ever catch on? That I wouldn't ever hear the whispering between you and my uncle? Gods! I'm not stupid!"

"Camilla." My dad tried to talk, but all I could hear was the beginning of what was about to be an excuse. That I was too young to have this talk with him. That he couldn't just bring me on the road. That somehow this was for me, and that I was going to be better off just staying with Bobby. All the excuses that I've heard plenty of other times and I really didn't want to hear again.

"I don't want to hear it." I spat out while turning on my heel and going into an alley. Hopefully this one would lead to a different area and I could go stalk around the park or something until I felt like talking. However, luck really wasn't my strong suit despite my perfect charisma, and this alley was a dead end brick wall. How is that even useful in any city design?

"You weren't ever supposed to hear any of that." My dad was speaking fast and I could sort of hear what sounded like an anxiousness in his voice. As if he was nervous about having this talk, and was banking on the thought that I would never over hear him and his plans to leave me. I couldn't bring myself to turn around and look at him, despite how badly I wanted to shout in his face. Somehow I knew that if I did I was going to break down, and I wasn't going to give him that when he was clearly planning on abandoning me in the near future.

"Yeah. I get the feeling that I'm not supposed to hear a lot of things." I huffed and crossed my arms while keeping my eyes trained on the wall. "So what was the plan? We were going to spend Christmas together and then you were going to just pawn me off on Grandpa Bobby while you and Uncle Sam just disappeared?" I asked.

"Baby Girl… I… I don't want to abandon you, and that is not and has never been my intention." My dad said and I heard a second pair of boots come into the alley.

"Hey, are you guys okay?" I heard my Uncle ask with concern laced in his voice but he was met with silence from the both of us. After a few beats of silence I heard him speak up again."She knows… Doesn't she?" I heard him ask, but I knew it wasn't directed at me. He was asking my dad, and after a moment I figured that my dad must have been giving him silent cues. I resisted the urge to turn around and look at the both of them, so I stubbornly faced forward and continued to stare at the bricks and willed them to open up. Guess telekinesis wasn't a gift of mine because they didn't budge.

"So after the adoption was final you were both just going to walk out of my life? Like I never even existed? Was this last Christmas supposed to be out of pity?" I asked and I couldn't keep the venom from seeping into my voice.

"I was never planning on just walking out on you Camilla. I wish I knew about you sooner because then maybe we could have spent more time together." My dad said and I heard footsteps coming closer to me. "Baby Girl, you have got to believe me when I say that hurting you was never my intention. I didn't… I didn't want to break your heart, and I didn't want you to find out like this. I just wanted to protect you." My dad said and I felt him engulf me in his arms.

"I don't understand." My voice cracked. "How is leaving me going to protect me? How is any of this going to protect me? All I'm going to feel is more alone, because everyone I've ever cared for has walked out of my life."

"Cami." My uncle's voice came from the side and from the corners of my eyes I saw him kneel down next to me. I looked at him because somehow I felt like it was better than looking at my dad. "We are not going to give up without a fight. Trust me."

"What are you even talking about?" I sniffled. "You're leaving. It's your choice to leave me. There's no fight to give."

"Sammy isn't going to go anywhere Baby Girl." My dad let go and tried to get me to turn around while he reassured me, but I wasn't having any of it. I rolled my shoulders and when he turned me around I refused to look at him. Instead I stared down at my shoes and held my hands in fists down at my sides. "I made him swear it Cake Pop."

"So you're just going to leave me? Why can't we come with you?" I quickly asked. Maybe I could convince him to stay, or that I could at least go with him. He's not going to just get to walk away from me like so many other people have, and if he thought he was going to be able to just leave me in the care of his brother or friends then he needed a reality check, because he was not getting his way that easily.

"It's not that simple." My dad said, but I shook my head.

"Yes it is." I cried. "When you break it down. It is always that simple."

"Camilla..." Uncle Puppy started. "Dean isn't leaving us to go somewhere… He's dying." He croaked out. I could feel my stomach drop to my feet like a ton of bricks. My inner dam was shattering and a whirlwind of emotions flooded my brain. My fists weakened until my hands uncurled from that position and hung at my sides. I couldn't have heard that right.

"What… what do you mean you're dying?" My gaze shifted, and finally rested on my dad, and my heart broke. He looked down at his feet and he wore a sad look on his face. "It's not true… Tell me it's not true…" I begged, pacing towards the sad husk that was now my dad, as his hands dropped and held my mine.

"I have till May." My dad said solemnly.

"No." I argued. "No. I know a lot of people, and awesome healers. If it's cancer or something then maybe you can be healed. I mean there has to be a way. Uncle Puppy said that you were going to fight right? Well you can fight against an illness, and maybe it won't be pretty but that doesn't mean that we're going to give up right? I mean I know I'm not going to give up, and like I said, I know healers at camp and they're awesome. Sons and daughters of Apollo himself so there has to be something that they can do about this." I rambled.

"Baby girl… I'm not dying because I'm sick... This isn't something that can be healed or cured by someone, even if they're a demi-god like you." My dad sounded so sure and I shook my head.

"No there has to be a way out. I mean come on, there's always a way out of everything." I argued.

"If we try to find a way out then your Uncle Sam will die instead." Dad said flatly. I felt all of the color drain from my face.

"Who or what did you deal with?" I asked sharply.

"It's a long and complicated story Cake Pop." Dad replied.

"It was my fault." Uncle Sam chimed in. "I was careless and I turned my back on someone else fighting for their life. It was him or me and he made his choice. He got a good stab in my back and… I died." He admitted. I slowly blinked and looked at Dad, expecting him to finish the story.

"There are these demons that appear at crossroads when you summon them. Usually the deal is whatever the summoner desires that the demon grants. In return, it collects your soul and takes you to hell after ten years. The demon I dealt with wasn't as kind. Sammy and I were kind of in the middle of a sort of war with demons so when I summoned one and asked for her to bring back Sam and she could get me in ten years, she laughed. She gave me one year. That's it. So when May gets here… and my time is up..."

"You're going to get dragged into Hell…" I finished for him, connecting the dots. I couldn't be angry anymore. I didn't have the energy and I still had a pounding headache from last night. The major crying and sudden running didn't help. "When were you going to tell me?" I asked.

"Soon-ish." He replied, but I knew better. Thing is, that no one could ever really lie to me. When I was a kid I thought it was a superpower, but right now it felt like a curses. I guess it registered on my face that I thought what he said was a bunch of BS because he started to talk again. "I don't know… There's never a right time for these things. I was thinking I was going to tell you after New Years once everything settled down a little…"

"So this all happened before you even knew about me?" I asked.

"Yes. I hate that I'm not going to be able to spend as much time with you as I want Cake Pop. But we'll make the most of the dumb family stuff before I have to go. Forgive me? Please?" He asked. I gave him a hug and hugged him tight. I was afraid to let go. Five months… I have him for five months… I have that long to figure something out. "Like I said, Sammy is going to stay with you. You'll have Bobby too."

"But they aren't you…" I began to sob and buried my face into his chest. I let everything out, and didn't even care that my eyes have returned to the state of "raccoon-ish". "I just started getting comfortable with you… I love you and Uncle Sammy. I finally found my family. I found you. I stayed with you, and you want me in your family. I finally got to you and got to know you and spend time with you and now it's all going to end in just six months… It's not fair…" I sobbed. Of course right after I unite with my dad, it gets torn apart. Just like every other family attempt, but this hurt the most.

I must have done something to upset Lady Hestia because I swear she put a curse on me.

 **Author's Note: Thanks again for reading!**

 **WaylandCorp 4 - Glad we can help cheer you up! And yea that was pretty tough to write at the time. In regards to Bela, she just kind of went off in her own little adventure, ruining other peoples lives. She'll pop up again later on in the story.**

 **Ylnadiir - J thinks that too, but A thinks she'll get taller than that, so we'll see.**

 **Trey Alexandee - we haven't decided yet. It'd be fun but very challenging to include Camilla in it but we aren't afraid of a challenge.**

 **AACM25 - very good point, we hadn't considered that. Also, very cool. A probably did know that but I (J) definitely didn't, so thanks :-)**

 **Jerry - Castiel will show when scheduled to show in season 4. Gotta get through the Dean dying thing first.**

 **Joann18joker - We will try and update more frequently!**

 **Question: Do you think Camilla is more of a Cat person or a Dog person?**

 **Trivia:** **Dean sold his soul in May, and met Camilla in late November/Early December. Meaning when he dies in May next year he comes out of hell in September. (he will get to see her thirteenth birthday before he dies)**


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